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PSYCHOLOGY: 



OR THE 



SCIENCE OF THE SOUL, 



CONSIDERED 



PHYSIOLOGICALLY AND PHILOSOPHICALLY. 



WITH AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING NOTES OF MESMERIC AND 
PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 

BY JOSEPH, HADDOCK, M. D., 



WITH ENGRAVINGS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 




NEW YORK:J 
FOWLERS AND WELLS, PUBLISHERS, 

PHRENOLOGICAL CABINET, lol NASSAU STKEET. 
1850. 



PREFACE. 



This work was recently published in London under 
the following title : " Somnolism and Psycheism, 
otherwise Vital Magnetism or Mesmerism : consid- 
ered Physiologically and Philosophically : being the 
substance of lectures delivered under the auspices of 
the Bolton Mechanics' Institution ; with an Appendix, 
containing notes of Mesmeric and Psychical experi- 
ence." 

We have taken the liberty to omit, in our title, such 
terms as may not be fully understood by all readers ; 
taking care, however, to make it equally appropriate. 

The subject on which this work treats, is fast be- 
coming of the most absorbing interest to our people, 
and it gives us pleasure to place before the American 
public the conclusions of those who have penetrated 
most deeply into these supposed mysteries of nature. 

We look forward, hopefully, for the time when we 
may know those things which the world have always 
" believed" to be truths. Nor is it possible for any 
influence to limit the desires of the human mind to in- 



PREFACE. IV 

vestigate, until it has penetrated every subject which 
comes within the range of its comprehension. 

May this work go forth to " open the eyes of the 
(spiritually) blind," and excite to further investigation 
and reflection those minds best capacitated to evolve 
" new light" on intellectual and spiritual vision. 

This is a progressive age, not only in moral and 
physical development, but in spiritual science. 

American Publishers. 

Clinton Hall, 
131 Nassau St., New York. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY 8-12 

Characteristics of the age. — Chemistry a new science. — Geology.— A new world 
without and a new world within man. — Knowledge not confined to supersti- 
tions, assumptions, barren negations, nor skeptical philosophy, but something 
real — the nature, powers, and capabilities of his being. — Assistance afforded us 
by a knowledge of magnetism, or psycheism. — Discoveries and doctrines of 
an enlightened physiology. — Laws and developments of the world of mind 
capable of being displayed before our physical sight, — The curious and inter- 
esting phenomena displayed by rflesmerism too often neglected. — Authority too 
often no aid in eliciting truth. The most astounding statements of mesmeric 
experiments not more wonderful than universally admitted facts. — Wonder- 
working telegraph. — A dreaming theory or enthusiastic vision a reality. — Mes- 
merism the discovery of a new method of working an old medium. — A spirit- 
ual and a natural body. — The blessing of sight a fact that all philosophers have 
been heretofore unable to explain. — Our present standard of knowledge should 
not be the measure of future acquirements. — Psycheism a means of acquaint- 
ing ourselves with the distinctive qualities of mind. 

ORIGIN OF MESMERISM, 12-17 

In records of past ages extraordinary cures ascribed to miracle, or magic. — 
Magnetism discovered toward the close of the last century.— Brief history of 
Mesmer and his discovery, and method of applying it. 

PHENOMENA AND PHYSIOLOGY OF MESMERISM, . 17-60 

Stages or degrees of mesmeric influence. — How they are to be understood and 
accounted for. — The brain and nervous system the medium through which the 
mind acts upon the body. — Illustrations and descriptions of the brain, etc. (see 
list of illustrations). — Methods of inducing the somnolent stnte. — Remarkable 
facts. — Catalepsy. — Phantasy. — Transfer of Feeling. — Phreno-mesmerism. — 
Cerebral lucidity, or clairvoyance. 

PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY OF MESMERISM, 60-78 
Clairvoyance the internal sight of the soul. — Sight without the aid of the eye not 
more difficult of explanation, when thoroughly examined, than ordinary vis- 
ion. — Description of the human eye. — Clairvoyance and ordinary vision as- 
sume the same basis. — Mind and matter, soul and body, psyche or animus. — 
The external of the spirit. — Psycheism, or the science of the soul as manifest- 
ed in nature. — Psychological change induced by mesmerism.— The superior 
state. — Independent clairvoyance. — The general power of the sensorium to 
form images within itself of objects that are without itself — Are all persons 
subject to mesmeric influence V and why all cannot be made clairvoyant. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. VI 

APPENDIX. 

PAGE. 

MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE, . . 78-95 

Case of E. L.— -Injury of the knee.— Treatment.^-The vapor ot ether.— -Its effects. 
—Hypnotism. — Phreno-magnetic developments. — Catalepsy. — Rigidity. — At- 
traction. — Delusion. — Susceptibility without the mesmeric sleep. — Personal in- 
fluence. — Mesmerism without contact. — Tooth extraction. — Discovery of lucid- 
ity and clairvoyance. — Reading in a mesmeric state. — Pictures a reality. — De- 
scription of absent persons and objects. — Picture of the cat. — Emma's visit to 
the queen. — To the planets. — Omnipresent vision.-^-The cash-box stolen. — Suc- 
cessful clairvoyant search for it, and interview with the thief. — Tracing the 
route and circumstances of a traveler. 

CLAIRVOYANCE AS APPLIED TO PHYSIOLOGY AND 

MEDICINE, 95-100 

Description of man's internal structure. — The, application of this power one of 
the most legitimate uses of clairvoyance. — Discovery of disease by the hand- 
writing of a person at a distance, also by a lock of hair. — Remarkable cure of 
insanity by the aid of clairvoyant prescriptions. — Tasting medicines through 
bottles.— The exalted sense. 

SPONTANEOUS EXTASIS, OR TRANCE, . . . 101-106 
A higher and more interior character. — Scenery and nature of the spirit-world.— 
Recollections, predictions, and verifications. — Rigidity and insensibility to pain 
during a trance. — Communications with the spirits of the dead. — Finding a 
Bible and a particular place in it. — Man. represented as a spiritual being after 
death, and his sensational perception. — The male and female sexes retained.— 
Growth of infants. — The living influenced by the spirits of the dead. — Spirits 
not subject to the laws of time or space. — The body only the "sftell" of the 
spirit. 

PRACTICE AND USE OF MESMERISM, . . . 106-109 
A simple process. — Depends more on peculiar constitution of the subject than 
power of the operator. — Modes of operating. — Curative influence of mesmer- 
ism.— Necessity of Mesmerisers.— Mesmeric institutions. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



1 Cerebro-Spinal Axis. 

2. The Nerves of the Brain. 

3. View of the Top of the Brain. 

4. Side View of the Brain. 

5. Front View of a Section of the 

Spinal Cord and Nerve. 

6. View of the Structure of the Brain 

7. The Right Hemisphere of the Brain 



9. Horizontal Section of the Brain. 

10. The Cerebellum, etc. 

11. Parts about the Base of the Brain. 

12. Right Hemisphere of the Brain. 

13. Vertical Section of the Brain. 

14. Perpendicular Section of the Brain. 

15. Right Hemisphere of the Brain. 

16. Ganglionic System of Vegetable Life. 






8. The Cerebellum. | 17 . Spinal Cord> etc 



INTRODUCTION. 



1. One of the striking characteristics of the present 
age, is the vast amount of knowledge respecting ex- 
ternal objects, which has been accumulated in a com- 
paratively short period. For within the compass of 
human life, so extensive has been the discovery of 
the physical properties of natural substances, that 
Chemistry, although of ancient date, may be consider- 
ed as a new science ; and Geology has opened a new 
world to human enquiry. While man has thus been 
permitted to increase his knowledge of the world with- 
out him, we might reasonably expect that some ad- 
ditional knowledge would be acquired of the world 
within him. That his knowledge would not be con- 
fined to the superstitions of the dark ages, or to the 
assumptions of self-constituted authority on the one 
hand ; nor to the barren negations of a sceptical philo- 
sophy on the other hand ; but that something real, 
positive, and satisfactory, should be learnt respecting 
his own constitution. For what knowledge can be so 
interesting to man, as a knowledge of himself ? of the 
nature, powers, and capabilities of his own being. 

2. To every calm, and well-informed enquirer, it 
will, I think, be evident, that the remarkable pheno- 
mena of what is called Mesmerism — or, as it is con- 



8 INTRODUCTION. 

sidered that it may more properly be called — Psyche- 
ism, rightly interpreted, do afford us the means of 
acquiring a knowledge of the laws and nature of the 
psychical, or mental part of our being, as much tran- 
scending what is commonly known, as the recent dis- 
coveries in magnetism and electricity exceed the ancient 
ideas of those natural powers ; and at the same time, 
they afford us the means of becoming better acquainted 
with the more abstruse points in our bodily organiza- 
tion also. 

3. The discoveries and doctrines of an enlightened 
physiology, teach us, that all the forms and forces of 
the entire universe are found in their highest perfec- 
tion in the bodily form of man ; and that in him, as 
the Microcosm, or little world, is to be found all that 
exists in the Macrocosm, or great world of the uni- 
verse. And as in the great world without us, the 
most astonishing and transforming powers are displayed 
by those subtle, imponderable, and invisible elements, 
which elude the most acute physical senses, even when 
aided by the highest artificial means ; so in the world 
within us, the most wonderful and unexpected powers 
are manifested by those psychical or mental operations, 
by which the laws and developments of the world of 
mind are capable of openly being displayed before our 
physical sight. 

4. But the curious and interesting phenomena dis- 
played by Mesmerism, instead of being calmly and 
carefully investigated by all enquiring minds, especially 
by those whose profession or pursuits ought to have 
interested them in the enquiry, have, in too many in- 
stances, been scornfully and contemptuously neglected. 



INTRODUCTION, 9 

Authority , instead of lending its aid to elicit the truth, 
has rather scowled upon the attempt which has been 
made to lift the veil under which truth has been con- 
cealed ; and in some cases, has misrepresented the 
character and intentions of those, who, at any cost, 
were determined to seek her for themselves. It is 
possible indeed, that the very remarkable results said 
to flow from the enquiry — results, so different to the 
expectations and ideas of a materializing age, and in 
some respects, disclosing matters which seem to clash 
with established opinions — may have been the reason, 
for this unfair, and certainly unphilosophical mode of 
proceeding. But, granting that the most astounding 
statements made by mesmeric experiments are true, 
they are not, when properly considered, more wonderful 
than things now universally admitted as facts. Look 
at the wonder-working electric telegraph ! The ele- 
ments on which that invention rests, must be as old as 
the present order of things ; yet if any one in the mid- 
dle of the last century had ventured to assert that, by 
human ingenuity, electricity or magnetism could be 
made to transmit human thought with mathematical 
precision, and yet with the velocity of light, he would 
have been set down by the practical authorities of that 
age as a dreaming theorist, or an enthusiastic visionary. 
To US) however, the visionary theory has become a 
reality ; and yet what magnetism or electricity really 
are, is no more known to us than it was to our great- 
grandfathers. The truth is, the mode has been elicited, 
by which certain comparative unknown mediums may 
be practically applied to subserve the purposes of so- 
cial life ; and herein, and for all practical purposes, 
1* 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

consists the useful discovery. If we shall never know 
what magnetism and electricity in themselves really 
are, we certainly do know much of the mode by which 
their laws and powers may be developed and manifest- 
ed : we have discovered a mode of working mediums 
altogether unknown to our ancestors. 

5. Just so, I apprehend, it is with the discoveries 
of Mesmerism. Here is, in fact, a discovery of a new 
mode of working an old medium. That mind and mat- 
ter are both necessary to form the peculiar organism 
we call man, is no new doctrine ; but the true nature 
of the body, as the mind's medium or instrument, and 
of the necessary organization of that superior in- 
dwelling power — the soul or mind, which directs and 
controls the outward form, has been somewhat over- 
looked. Metaphysicians have studied mind irrespec- 
tive of form or matter ; and some philosophers would 
resolve all things into material operation, irrespective 
of mind. I believe that fact and demonstrative evi- 
dence will prove both classes of philosophers to be 
wrong. From Divine Revelation we know that there 
is both spirit or mind, and matter ; both a spiritual 
body and a natural body. These cardinal truths will 
be found to lie at the bottom of all mesmeric expe- 
rience, and from that experience, the a priori statements 
of the Scriptures will receive abundant confirmation. 
And we shall see that in our present state of existence, 
if we wish to study mind or spirit, we must study it as 
manifested in its divinely appointed, and true corres- 
pondent instrument, the material bodily organization. 

6. With some of the mind's operations, and the 
bodily functions and sensations thence ensuing, we have 



INTRODUCTION. 11 

become so familiar, that we scarcely ever stop to think 
of the perpetual miracles involved in our daily expe- 
rience. Thus the great blessing of sight involves, as 
we shall point out presently, a fact which all the 
philosophers that have ever lived have been unable to 
explain ! Yet when some manifestation of mind or 
spirit, which has hitherto eluded general notice, is 
brought before us, although it may not be more inex- 
plicable than natural sight, yet we are apt to deny 
the possibility of the declared manifestation, simply 
because we were not previously acquainted with it — 
apt to make our present standard of knowledge the 
measure by which all future acquisitions are to be 
estimated. Sometimes too, we are told authoritatively, 
that it is impossible for us to know any thing of mind 
or spirit. What, I ask, do we know of matter? 
Simply some of its laws and properties ; and from 
these we predicate its qualities. So it is with mind 
or spirit ; Mesmerism, or more truly Psycheism, fur- 
nishes us with a means of acquiring an experimental 
acquaintance with some of its most distinctive qualities 
— distinctive I mean with respect to the qualities of 
inert matter. Whether we shall ever know w^hat spirit 
or what matter really is, remains for a higher stage of 
existence to determine. It is privilege enough to be 
enabled to know something of the laws and properties 
of that higher and imperishable organism, to which our 
outward bodily organism is subservient. 



SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM, 



ORIGIN OF MESMERISM. 

7. In the records of past ages, we have many state- 
ments of remarkable mental or psychical manifesta- 
tions, and also of the performance of extraordinary 
cures, by mental or moral agency, which ignorance and 
superstition have ascribed to miracle or magic. And 
hence, cases resting on the best historical authority, 
have been doubted, and even denied in later times. 
Toward the close of the last century, the existence of 
some of these powers was discovered, partly from acci- 
dent and partly from research ; and to the agency by 
which they were accomplished, the name of Animal 
Magnetism was applied by its modern discoverer— 
Mesmer. This individual has been represented in 
works of authority as an impostor and cheat, and as 
owing his celebrity entirely to the silly credulity of 
imaginative people. Few persons who have really 
taken the trouble to enquire into the matter, would 
now hazard such an assertion ; yet, whether from 
ignorance of the true cause of the phenomena he wit- 
nessed, or from a desire to mystify the subject, it must 
be admitted that he both did and said many things 
which justified suspicion. 



ORIGIN OF MESMERISM. 13 

8. Anton Mesmer was born in 1734, at Mersburg, 
on the shores of the Lake of Constance ; and died in 
his native place in 1815, at the advanced age of eighty- 
one. At the age of forty-two he took the degree of 
Doctor of Medicine, in the University of Vienna. He 
appears to have been a man of an imaginative cast of 
mind ; for the inaugural Thesis he published on ob- 
taining his degree, was "On the influence of the 
Planets on the Human Body. 5 ' Such a mind, if likely 
to fall into many errors, was still open for the recep- 
tion of any new ideas which might present themselves ; 
and was not prone, as men of a more sceptical cast, to 
reject any new truth, because it did not harmonize 
with preconceived opinions. The then Professor of 
Astronomy, at Vienna, believed in the efficacy of the 
loadstone as a remedy in human disease ; and he had 
invented a peculiar form of magnetized steel plates, 
which, it is said, he applied to the cure of disease with 
much success. Mesmer obtained from the Astronomer, 
who was his personal friend, these magnets, and ap- 
plied them in his own way ; and it is said, with such 
striking results, that he communicated them to the 
Astronomer, who published an account of them, but 
attributed the cures performed to the form of the 
plates, and merely represented Mesmer as a physician 
employed by him to use them. Mesmer, who had dis- 
covered the peculiar mode of using them to insure suc- 
cess — that was, in fact, by manipulations, now called 
Passes — was indignant at this, and accused his friend 
of a violation of the confidence placed in him. The 
result was a controversy between the parties ; each 
accusing the other. Notwithstanding this quarrel. 



14 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

Mesmer proceeded in his own way, and acquired con- 
siderable popularity. But, whether from indiscretion 
on his part, or jealousy on the part of others, he was 
opposed by the scientific authorities of Vienna, and 
was ultimately obliged to quit that city. 

9. In the year 1778, two years after obtaining his 
degree, he arrived at Paris, whither his popularity ap- 
pears to have preceded him ; for we are told, even by 
his enemies, that upon his opening public apartments 
in that gay metropolis, for the reception of patients, 
they were speedily crowded by the numbers who daily 
resorted to them, including all classes, from the peer 
to the peasant ; and that hundreds were ready to tes- 
tify to the cures wrought upon their own persons by 
the Great Magnetizer. Now, making every allowance 
for imagination or fancy ^ striking results must have 
followed his treatment, or no such enthusiasm could 
have been raised in his behalf. A French physician 
became a disciple of Mesmer, and is said speedily to 
have acquired the best practice in Paris. So great, in 
fact, was Mesmer's success, that the French Govern- 
ment took up the matter, and offered him a large an- 
nual income, if he would communicate his secret, and 
they appear to have thought so highly of the use to 
which this new agent might be applied, that they ac- 
tually proposed to guarantee him a large sum, even if 
a commission appointed to examine the subject should 
make an unfavorable report ! Mesmer, however, did 
not accede to the government proposal. After some 
time, and divers vicissitudes, the sum of <£14,000 was 
raised by his disciples, whom he had instructed in his 
art, but whom he did not consider entitled to practice 



ORIGIN OF MESMERISM. 15 

it publicly — a right which they considered themselves 
to possess. Mesmer then returned to his native place ; 
and this has been represented as " running away from 
his dupes ;" but it appears that he retained faith in 
his views, and in his last illness sought relief from his 
own discovery. 

10. As Mesmer's discoveries arose out of the use 
of magnets, it is not surprising that he should consider 
Magnetism as the agent by which the effects he wit- 
nessed were produced. He therefore taught that there 
was a fluid, or gas, universally diffused, which influenced 
the earth, and planets, and all animated bodies, and 
this fluid he called " Animal Magnetism. " He con- 
sidered that it was capable of healing diseases of the 
nerves immediately, and other diseases mediately ; that 
it perfected the action of medicines, and tended to pro- 
mote favorable crises in disease ; and that in Animal 
Magnetism, nature presented a universal method of 
healing the diseases, and preserving the health of man- 
kind. ^The great end of Mesmer's proceedings, ap- 
pears, therefore, to have been Use — the application of 
a remedy for human suffering ; and he does not appear 
to have been aware of the more curious, and distinctly 
psychical phenomena elicited by later enquirers. To 
the Marquis de Puysegur, a French nobleman, one of 
Mesmer's disciples, is attributed the discovery of the 
faculty called Clairvoyance, in the year 1784. 

11. For the sake of brevity, I omit describing Mes- 
mer's mode of operating, save that among other means 
for acting on his patients, he had a sort of box, filled 
with iron filings and pounded glass, placed in the centre 
of the room where they assembled ; and that they each 



16 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

were placed in connection with it, by means of polished 
metal rods, which they held in their hands ; and the 
patients were further united and connected by means 
of a chain encircling them. When the French Com- 
missioners applied to this box the usual tests for ter- 
restrial magnetism, and found no indication of ordi- 
nary magnetic influence, they reported that the whole 
was the work of imagination, meaning fancy; yet ad- 
mitting that cures were effected. This Commission 
seems to have been both a prejudiced and unfair one. 
The name of Dr. Franklin occurs among the Commis- 
sioners, but he was at the time unwell, and incapable 
of attending to the enquiry ; and while the public re- 
port condemned Mesrner and his proceedings, one of 
the Commissioners, who had paid the greatest atten- 
tion to the proceedings, published a private or individ- 
ual report favorable to him. But in the year 1826, 
the French Government appointed a second Commis- 
sion, and their Report, published in 1831, fully admits 
the truth of all the phenomena usually ascribed to An- 
imal Magnetism. However, our business is not so 
much with the opinions of Mesmer, or that of his 
friends or enemies, as with that of the facts and phe- 
nomena associated with his name. It was soon dis- 
covered that the steel rods had but little if any thing 
to do with the phenomena produced ; but the name of 
Animal Magnetism continued to be used, and is still 
used on the Continent, and by this name the practice 
was introduced into England a few years ago. But 
the English enquirers into this remarkable human fac- 
ulty, finding that the use of a name, which implied 
the existence of a fluid which could not be demon- 



PHENOMENA, ETC. OF MESMERISM. 17 

strated to the senses, was frequently turned into an 
argument against facts which admitted of complete 
demonstration, adopted out of respect to the memory 
of Mesmer, and to avoid the appearance of the adop- 
tion of any theory of their own, the name of Mesmer- 
ism ; just as Magnetism is applied to the properties 
of the loadstone, from Magnes, the ancient reputed 
discoverer of its powers, or Galvanism, to the dis- 
coveries of Galvani. We therefore proceed to notice 
the facts and phenomena associated with the names of 
Mesmerism, or Animal Magnetism, and shall endeavor 
to ascertain the Laws and Causes to which these phe- 
nomena may be referred. 



PHENOMENA AND PHYSIOLOGY OF 
MESMERISM. 

12. There are several stages or degrees of what is 
called Mesmeric Influence ; or, in other words, the 
Mesmeric or Psychic State, involves a variety of states, 
having one common character, but presenting widely 
differing phenomena. Thus, there is simple Mesmeric 
Drowsiness or Sleep ; Coma, or more profound 
sleep ; Insensibility to Pain ; this, I believe, only 
occurs when the Mesmeric Coma is fully established, 
and most of the external senses, together with the 
proper consciousness of external objects is rendered dor- 
mant ; and the internal faculty of imagination is called 
into activity, without the guidance of true reason. 
Phantasy, or that state in which the Mesmerised 



18 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

person takes the mere suggestions of the mind of the % 
operator to be realities. Phreno-Mesmerism, or the 
manifestation of the Phrenological sentiments and feel- 
ings, which is but another form of simple imaginative 
action ; Transfer of State and Feeling, or that 
Imaginative action which causes the patient to feel 
what is done to the Mesmeriser, as if it were done to 
him; Mental Attraction, or apparent Magnetic 
drawing of the person of the patient, even contrary to 
his inclination. Cerebral Lucidity, or apparent 
illumination of the Brain ; with other forms of what 
is called Clairvoyance ; but which I think would be 
better called Inner Vision, or Internal, or Spirit- 
ual Sight. Assuming, therefore, for the present, 
that these phenomena exhibit a series of great and im- 
portant facts, which cannot be set aside, neither by 
reason nor ridicule, I proceed at once to enquire — 
How we are to understand them ? In what way to 
account for the curious and interesting manifestations 
thus cast upon our notice ? 

13. We must now therefore examine the medium 
by which the mind acts upon the bodily organization — 
namely, the Brain and Nervous System. It is 
common to speak of the nervous system, as consist- 
ing of the brain, the spinal marrow, and the nerves 
springing from them. This arrangement is true enough 
as far as it goes ; but it is not sufficiently particular 
for our purpose. For upon examining the interior of 
a human head, it will be found that every individual 
has two distinct brains. These two brains are very 
diflFerent in size as well as form and convolution. The 
upper and very much larger portion, and which in fact 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



19 



CEREBROSPINAL AXIS. 




a, The brain. 

b, Cerebellum. 

f, Medulla oblongata. 

g g, Nerves distributed to the arms. 

k k, Great sciatic nerve distributed to the lower limbs. 

I, Dorsal, and n, Lumber nerves. 

m, Plexus of cervical nerves. 

1, Olfactory nerve. 

2, Optic nerve. 

3, 4, 5, 6, The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth nerva. 

7, Portio dura of the seventh nerve. 

8, Auditory nerve and par vagum. 

9, Hypoglossal nerve. 

10, Sub-occipital nerve. 



20 



SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 



THE NERVES OF THE BRAIN. 




a a a, Convolutions of the brain. 

b, Cerebellum and arbor vitae, or tree of life. 

c, Medulla oblongata. 

d, Upper part of the spinal cord. 

e, Eye. 

f, Lateral ventricle. 

0, Corpus callosum 
n, Pineal gland, 

s, Quadrigeminal bodies. 

1, Olfactory nerve. 

2, Optic nerve. 

3, 4, 5, 6, Third, fourth, fifth, and sixth nerves. 
6', 5", Branches of the fifth nerve, 

7, Portio dura of the seventh nerve. 
7\ Auditory nerve. 

8, Glossopharyngeal nerve. 
8', Par vagum. 

8", Spinal accessory nerve. 

9, Hypoglossal nerve. 

10, Sub-occipital nerve. 

11, 12, First and second cervical nerves 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



21 



VIEW OP THE TOP OF THE BRAIN. 
A A 




A A, Front pnrt of the hrain. 

AA, BB, Right ana left hemispnere. 



22 



SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 
SIDE VIEW OF THE BRAIN. 




C— Cerebrum. D— Cerebellum. E— Medulla oblongata. 



FRONT VIEW OF A SECTION OF THE SPINAL CORD AND NERVES. 




A — Spinal cord. B — Spinal Nerve. C — Motor branch of spinal nerve. 
D — Ganglion of posterior branch of spinal nerve. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



23 



VIEW OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE BRAIN. 

A A 




AB, AB, Are the right and left hemispheres of the brain. 

FF, The cerebellum. 

AA, The anterior lobe. 

ee, The line which denotes the separation between the anterior lobe ami thp middle lobe. 

DD, The middle lobe. 

BB, The posterior lobe. 

e, Thepons Varolii, which brings the two sides of the cerebellum into communication. It i* aU u 
named the Tuber annulare. 

f, The Medulla oblongata. 

rr, The Corpora pyramidalia. 

s s, The Corpora olivaria. 

1 1, The Corpora restiformia are on the opposite side of the corpora p\ ramidalia. 



24 



SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 



1. First pair, or olfactory nerves, arise by three origins. These unite and proceed forward and 
•nward in a groove in the inferior surface of the anterior lobes of the brain, and form a greyish 

. swelling or ganglion. From this ganglion a great number of filaments proceed through the cribri- 
form plate of the ethmoid bone, and are distributed upon the mucous membrane of the nose. It is 
the nerve of the sense of smell. 

2. Second pair, or optic, arise principally from the anterior corpora quadrigemina. Each nerve 
passes outward through the optic foramen in the sphenoid bone, and is expanded upon the retina. 
It is the nerve of the sense of sight. 

3. Third pair, or motores oculorum, originate from the motor tract of the spinal cord, immediately 
after they have passed through the pons Varolii. Each nerve escapes through the sphenoidal 
fissure, and supplies five of the muscles within the orbit with motor filaments. 

4. Fourth pair, or trochleares, originate from the processus e cerebello ad testes and valvula of 
Vieussens. Each nerve passes out from the cranium at the sphenoidal fissure, and is entirely dis- 
tributed upon the superior oblique muscles of the eyeball. It is a motor nerve. 

5. Fifth pair. These nerves issue from the surface of the brain, near the junction of the pons 
Varolii and crus cerebelli, but actually arise from the restiform bodies. Each nerve escapes from 
the cranium by three separate openings, and is extensively distributed upon the orbit and other 
parts of the face. Part of the filameuts of this nerve are sensitive, and part motor. 

6. Sixth pair originate from the pyramidal bodies, as they are about to enter the pons Varolii. 
Each nerve escapes through the sphenoidal fissure, and is entirely distributed upon the external 
rectus muscle of the eyeball. It is a motor nerve. 

7. Portio dura of the seventh pair originate from the restiform bodies. Each nerve is extensively 
distributed in the muscles of the face and external ear. It is the motor nerve of the muscles of ex- 
pression of the face. 

8. Portio mollis of the. seventh pair, or auditory nerves, (eighth pair of some authors), arise prin- 
cipally from a small grey swelling on the upper surface of the restiform bodies at the side of the 
fourth ventricle. Each nerve is distributed upon the internal ear, and is the nerve of the sense 
of hearing. 

9. Glossopharyngeal nerves, or upper division of the eighth pair, (ninth pair of some authors), 
arise from the restiform bodies near the sulcus which separates them from the olivary, and are 
distributed upon the pharynx and mucous membrane at the back part of the tongue. It is a 
sensitive nerve. 

10. Par vagum, or pneumogastric nerves, or principal division of the eighth pair, (tenth pair of 
some authors), originate in the same line with, and close upon, the glossopharyngeal. These nerves 
are extensively distributed upon the larynx, pharynx, trachea, oesophagus, heart, lungs, and 
stomach. Part of the filaments of this nerve are sensitive, and part are motor. 

11. Spinal accessory nerves, or lower division of the eighth pair, (eleventh pair of some authors), 
originate from the upper part of the spinal cord, in the same line with the two preceding nerves. 
They enter the cranium by the foramen magnum, and pass out again from the cranium through 
the foramen lacerum, along with the other two divisions of the eighth pair. It is principally, if not 
entirely, a motor nerve. 

12. Hypoglossal or ninth pair, (twelfth pair of some authors). Each originates from the sulcus 
between the pyramidal and olivary bodies, and escapes from the base of the cranium through the 
anterior condyloid foramen, and is distributed upon the muscles of the tongue It is the motor 
nerve of the tongue. 






ILLUSTRATIONS. 



25 



THE 1UGHT HEMISPHERE OF THE BRAIN. 




MM, Convolutions, flat — color, reddish grey. 

A, Medulla oblongata cut through the medium line. Color — outer portion, bluish white ; inner 
portion, reddish grey. 

a, P3'ramidal body. 

B, Pons Varolii, or tuber annulare. Color — white outside ; inside, reddish grey. 
f, Tubercula quadrigemina. 

D, Crus cerebri. 

E, The great inferior ganglion— posterior striated body (thalamus)— color, bluish white. 

F, The great superior ganglion — anterior striated body — color, reddish grey. 

G, Annular ganglion. 

H, Corpus callosum — color, bluish white. 

K, Fissura Silvii. 

L, The cerebellum. 

e, The arbor vitte— color, white, m the reddish grey ground of the incised cerebellum. 

T, The tentorium, separating the cerebellum from the brain. 

n, Locus niger. 



26 



SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 



THE CEREBELLUM. 




AA, The cerebellum— color, reddish grey. 

B, Processus vermieulares. 

n, Processus e cerebello ad testes — semj-transparent — color, bluish white. 

a a, The posterior corpora quadrigemina— color, bluish white. 

c c, The anterior corpora quadrigemina — color, bluish white. 

d d, The great inferior ganglions — posterior striated bodies (thalamus) — color, bluish white. ' 

in m, Posterior part of the great superior ganglions — anterior striated bodies — color, reddish grey 

e, Pineal gland — color, reddish grey. 

i, Third ventricle. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



27 



HORIZONTAL SECTION OF THE BRAIN. 




e e, Convolutions, or cortical part of the brain; color, reddish grey. 

u, Fourth ventricle. 

v, Posterior commissure ; color, white. 

8, Third ventricle, or separation between the great ganglions. 

d d, Great inferior ganglions ; color, bluish white. 

K, Middle commissure 

:i, Anterior commissure. 

p p, Great superior ganglions- -striated ; color, reddish grey. 

t, Anterior opening into the lateral ventricles. 



28 



SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 



THE CEREBELLUM, ETC. 

M M 




MM, The anterior part of the brain. 

NN, Posterior part of the brain. 

e e, Vertical sections of the great inferior ganglions ; color^ bluish white. 

c c, The black substance in the centre of the great inferior ganglions. 

oo, The cords of the mammary bodies which plunge into the interior of the great inferior ganglions 

t, Mammary body of the right side, the left being out away. 

r r, Optic nerves. 

n n, Olfactory nerves. 

a a, Great superior ganglions ; color, reddish grey. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



29 



VARIOUS PARTS ABOUT THE BASE OF THE BRAIN. 




r, Medulla oblongata. 

cc, Decussation of the fibres of the pyramidal bodies, which explains the influence of the lateral 
cerebral parts of the brain upon the opposite aides of the body. These fibres cross the mesial line 
of the body one above another from below, upward, like plaited straw. Those of the right side 
come from the left pyramidal body, and those of the left Bide from the right pyramidal body, and is 
a constant peculiarity, modified only hy the number oi decussating fibres. They are contracted in 

their course in passing the olivary bodies a a, and then diverge as seen in the ti-ure. 

m, Auditor}' nerve. 

n, Facial nerve. The primary bundle of fibres ol' the cerebellum are here seen to plunge int..- it 
between these nerves. 

b, Tart of the annular protuberance, or pons Varolii, plunging into the cerebellum. 

s, Cerebellar ganglion. 



30 



SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 



p, Mammary bodies, with the diverging cords to which they are attached. 

u, Optic nerve. " The optic nerves decussate partially, and is the cause why the eye is frequently 
deranged on the same side as that on which the brain is diseased." — Spurzheim. 

hh, "Nervous fibres that expand in the convolutions and contribute to their formation." 
Spurzheim. 

i i, Olfactory nerves. 

v, Side of the great lateral ventricle. 

34, 35, 36, 37, 38, The fibres which pass through the great cerebral ganglions, and ultimately ex' 
pand into the convolutions of the brain. 

DD, Converging convolutions. 



RIGHT HEMISPHERE OF THE BRAIN. 




c, Internal structure of the convolutions. 

e, Fibres of the convolutions aggultinated by a very delicate neurilema. 

This engraving represents the right hemisphere of the brain, in which the convolutions are cut 
away to the depth of about three quarters of an inch, to show the fibres radiating from the centre 
of the outer surface of the great inferior ganglion into the convolutions. 

The white spot in the centre of the figure represents the outer surface of the great interior 
ganglion, over which the fibres are drawn with great accuracy from the original. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



31 



VERTICAL SECTION OF THE BRAIN. 




A fine view of a vertical section of the brain through the convolutions,- the white substance, the 
great inferior ganglion, and the cerebellum. 

This section is made through the ganglion to the depth of about the quarter of an inch from 
it-* outer surface, and through the middle of the cerebellar ganglion. 

0, Great inferior ganglion. 

m, Fibres radiating from the surface of the ganglion. 

1, Cerebellar ganglion (corpus dentatum). 
n, Arbor vita\ 

Some of the principal organs formed by the convolutions of the brain are numbered thus s 

n, Amativeness, or sexual love. 

'2, Pluloprogenitiveness, or love of offering. 

3, Inh.ibitiveness, or attachment to home. 

4, Concentratrreuess, or power of mental concentration. 

5, Approbativeness, or love of approbation. 

6, Self esteem. 



32 



SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 



7, Firmness. 

8, Reverence. 

9, Benevolence 

10, Imitation. 

11, Comparison, or power of comparing one thing with another, 

12, Eventuality, or power of observing action. 

13, Individual^- , or power of observing existence. 

14, Language, or power of learning or using verbal signs 



PERPENDICULAR SECTION OF THE BRAIN. 




The fibres of the white or medullary .substance radiate, as seen in the figure, from the base of the 
brain into the convolutions the folds of which are plunged into the white substance, generally from 
a line to an inch deep. 

e e, is a section of one of the corpora restiforma. 

c, Is a section of one of the corpora pyramidalia. 

1>, Is the pons Varolii. 

g, Is one of the crura of the brain. 

6, Is the cerebellar ganglion, surrounded by the arbor vita?. 

84, ::.">, 37, 38, and 11, Are the cerebral fibres, which, originating in the medulla oblongata, pass 
under the pons Varolii, through the crura, and corpora striata, and great inferior ganglions, and 
ultimately expand into the convolutions of the brain. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



33 



47, 48, Situation of the cerebellum within the skull. 

These crura contain cineriterous matter in their interior, from which additional fibres are con- 
tinually sent off as they advance to join and strengthen those that have come from below. 

The cerebral crura are besides divided into two parts, viz. : an anterior and external, and a pos- 
terior and internal mass, the limits of which are marked by two superficial furrows. They are the 
roots of the primary bundles of fibres of the brain, which diverge as they advance to form the im- 
mense mass of the hemispheres. 

A great portion of these fibres pass to and through the ganglions in their course to the convo- 
lutions, from which another set of fibres converge through the white substance, and corpus callosum 
to the same ganglions in the centre of the brain. 



RIGHT HEMISPHERE OF THE BRAIN. 




A., Front part of the right hemisphere of the brain. 

B, Great inferior ganglion. 

C, Great superior ganglion. 



84 



SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 




GANGLIONIC SYSTExM OF VEGETABLE LIFE. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 35 



GANGLIONIC SYSTEM OF VEGETATIVE LIFE. 

A view of the ganglions of the organs of the body, and other structures, connected with the great 
sympathetic nerve, reduced from Manec's grand plate, by John Harrison Curtis, Esq., London. 

AAAA, Semilunar ganglion and solar plexus. The ganglion is placed upon the base of the two 
pillars of the diaphragm, one being on each side, and the right generally larger than the left. 

B, Small splanchnic nerve. Consists in the union of two or three twigs, furnished by the last 
thoracic ganglia. 

C, Great splanchnic nerve. Formed by the junction of three, four, five, or eight twigs, coming 
from as many thoracic ganglia. 

DDD, Thoracic ganglia. Ten or eleven in number, corresponding with the posterior part of the 
lateral side of the body of the dorsal vertebrae; most of them rest on the head of the ribs; others 
correspond with the level of the intercostal space. 

E, Internal branches. AH of them are attached upon the body of the vertebrae, and advance, 
ramifying and communicating with each other, toward the medium line, where they are distributed 
over the oesophagus and the aorta. 

F, External branches. Two for each ganglion, very different from each other ; one large, red, 
pulpous, and going to the intercostal nerve; the other much smaller, white, giving off no twigs, and 
passing from the intercostal to the ganglion. 

G, Right coronary plexus. Passes between the pulmonary artery and the aorta, and accompanies 
the anterior coronary artery. 

H, Left coronary plexus. Passes before the left branch of the pulmonary artery, goes to the 
posterior 6ide of the heart, and accompanies the left coronary artery. 

I, Inferior cervical ganglion. Placed behind the vertebral artery. 

J, Inferior twigs. Commonly a single branch communicating with the first thoracic ganglion. 

K, External threads. Very slender, and communicating with the last cervical and the last two 
dorsal pairs ; some filaments pass round the subclavian artery. 

L, Internal twigs. Very minute, and distributed to the longus colli, upon the anterior part of the 
spine ; some of them descend to the pulmonary plexus. 

M, Anterior threads. Two or three in number, constituting the inferior cardiac nerves. 

N, Middle cervical ganglion, Placed on a level with the body of the fifth or sixth cervical ver- 
tebrae, and covered by the internal jugular vein. 

O, Interior twigs. Three or four in number, all passing over the inferior cervical ganglion. 

P, External twigs. Vary much in number, and give off ramifications c&mmunicating with the 
cervical pairs and the phrenic nerve. 

Q, Superior cervical ganglion, Situated on the anterior and lateral part of the second, third, and 
fourth cervical vertebrae. 

R, Superior branches. Two in number, and placed behind the internal carotid artery. 

S, Inferior branch. Rarely double, and descends upon the great rectus muscle as far as the 
middle cervical ganglion. 

T, External branches. Their number very variable ; they communicate with the first, second, 
and third cervical pair. 

U, Submaxillary ganglion. Situated upon the internal side of the submaxillary gland, a little 
below the styloglossal muscle. 

V, Vidian nerve. A branch springing from the posterior side of the sphenopalatine ganglion. 

\V, Nasopalatine branch One of the internal branches of the sphenopalatine ganglion, entering 
the nasal fossae by the spheno palatine foramen. 

X, Spheno palatine ganglion. Placed in the summit of the zygomatic G 

Y, Opthalmic ganglion. Situated in the orbit, and occupies the external side of the optic 
nerve. 

Z, Auditory nerve and membrane of the tympanum, containing, within its cavity, four email 
bones, viz. : the stapes, the incus, the malleus, and the os orbiculare. 



36 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

1, Renal plexuses. Furnished by threads coming from the solar and cceliac plexuses, and from 
the last dorsal ganglion, the first lumbar, and the small splanchnic nerve. 

2 2, Lumbar ganglia. Commonly four or five; the first corresponds with the body of the first 
lumbar vertebrae, the last with tbe fifth. 

3, Internal branches. Numerous ; go downward and inward, to the aorta, where they are lost in 
the aortic plexus. 

4, External branches. Two of these, at least, arise from each ganglion ; they follow a course 
more or less flexuous toward the anterior branches of the lumbar nerves. 

5, Aortic flexus. Formed by threads from the solar plexus, superior mesenteric, renal, small 
splanchnic nerve, and internal branches of the lumbar ganglia. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



37 




A, Spinal cord. 

EE, Spinal nerves connected with the right and left arras. 

FG, Lungs. HH, Stomach. I, Liver. J, Spleen. 

K, Small intestines and mesentary. L, Kidneys. MM, Uterus. 

NN, Spinal nerves connected with the sacrum. 

OPO, Spinal nerves distributed to the lower limbs 



38 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

occupies the greater part of the cranium, or skull, is 
called the Cerebrum. The smaller portion is situated 
in the hinder part of the head, just above the spinal 
marrow, and is called the Cerebellum — a word mean- 
ing " the little brain. " The cerebrum is laterally 
divided into halves, called hemispheres, and also into 
smaller divisions, called lobes. The interior portion is 
made up of various cavities, and delicately-arranged 
minute fibres, which commence in extremely minute 
bodies, called cortical glands, which every where oc- 
cupy the surface of the Cerebrum ; some of these fibres 
afterwards converge to form the spinal marrow. The 
surface of the cerebrum is also every w T here disposed 
in wavy furrows, not unlike the folds of the intestines. 
But the cerebellum, not only differs in size and situa- 
tion, but also, in exterior and interior form ; for the 
exterior, instead of the wavy folds, is arranged in what 
are called lamina, or plates ; and the interior has an ar- 
borescent or tree-like appearance — so much so, that it 
is called arbor vitae, the tree of life. Now, viewing 
man as formed according to the Infinite Wisdom and 
perfect order of a Divine Creator, we must expect to 
find consummate order and design within him, and that 
every organ of his body should be formed for some spe- 
cific and determinate Use ; for Use is the great end 
of all the Creator's operations. Hence we may conclude 
that each of these brains has its own specific use, and 
such we find to be the case ; and I will endeavor to 
point out such of those uses as bear upon the subject 
we are now considering — my object at present being, 
not to present you with a full view of the physiology of 
the human brain, but only so much as is indispensably 



PHENOMENA, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 39 

necessary to be known in order to comprehend the phe- 
nomena of Mesmerism. 

14. On the base, or lower part of the cerebrum, are 
found various nerves, which may be easily seen in any 
good anatomical engraving. Thus in front are found 
the bulbs of the olfactory nerves, or nerves of smell, 
which, to use a familiar phrase, grow out of the base 
of the cerebrum, and expand towards the forehead, and 
from these bulbs a multitude of filaments depend, which 
are spread out on the delicate membrane in the upper 
part of the nose. The optic nerves, or nerves of sight, 
also issue from the under part of the cerebrum, then 
approach each other and form a union, called the com- 
missure ; they then separate, and proceed in the form 
of a round white cord to the ball of each eye, which 
they enter behind, and then spread out to form the 
delicate nervous expansion called the retina. The 
nerves which move the eyes and eyelids, also issue from 
the base of the cerebrum. There are also other nerves 
arising from different portions of the cerebrum ; but 
except those by which sensation is experienced, they 
have no particular reference to the phenomena of Mes- 
merism. There are other important nerves which arise 
within the cranium, but not from the cerebrum, and 
in respect to mesmeric phenomena, the chief are the 
seventh and eighth pairs, which arise from the cere- 
bellum, and the great sympathetic nerves, which, by 
means of the eighth pair of nerves, are also connected 
with the lesser brain. It is also worthy of notice, that 
all the nerves of the cerebrum issue from its base, thus 
leaving the fibrous and cortical portions free ; and by 
this means the General Sensorium is placed in a re- 



40 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

gion above the ministering nerves, and thus, as it were, 
midway between the mind and outward nature. 

15. Now it is essentially necessary to be known, in 
order to form any correct idea of the physiological 
phenomena of Mesmerism, that all the nerves of the 
body, innumerable as they may appear to be, arise 
either directly or indirectly from the cerebrum or cere- 
bellum ; but in speaking of the origin of the nerves, 
my remarks have no reference to their development in 
the embryo, but to their situation and use in the per- 
fect organism. And also, that whatever may be the 
parental character, so to speak, of any nerve, that 
character it preserves to its termination, however cir- 
cuitous its course may be, and however its filament 
may be mixed up with filaments of nerves of another 
order, so as to form a compound nerve. This is one 
of those traits of Divine simplicity which are so mani- 
fest in the Animal Economy. Now all the nerves by 
which we feel or act — that is, all what are called the 
voluntary and sensory nerves, may be said to arise, 
either directly from this larger portion of the entire 
brain, called the cerebrum, or indirectly from it, by 
means of the spinal marrow — which may be considered 
as a continuation of the cerebrum in the body. The 
Spinal Marrow is composed of three distinct col- 
umns — the anterior, or front column, being formed of 
what are styled motor nerves ; that is, nerves that are 
concerned in voluntary motion. The posterior column, 
or hinder part, of nerves of sensation ; and the middle 
part of the column contains the roots of the nerves of 
respiration. If the brain is attentively examined, por- 
tions of nervous fibres may be seen passing by and 






PHENOMENA, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 41 

through other nervous portions, and yet having no con- 
nection with them. Thus, portions of the motor fibres 
of the cerebrum, may be traced under the arch of the 
optic nerves, and through that appendage of the cere- 
bellum called the Bridge of Varolius ; and yet they are 
uninfluenced by the cerebellum, but preserve their cere- 
bral character, and pass intact and directly into the 
fore part of the spinal marrow ; and portions of sen- 
sory fibres may be traced in the same manner going by 
and through nervous substances of another character 
without losing their own specific character, and then 
passing into the hinder part of the spinal column. 
Now it is by this mode of arrangement, that the true 
character of the nerves at their origin is preserved to 
their extremities ; and so carefully is this distinction 
preserved, that even if filaments of motor or sensory 
nerves appear to be united in one cord, yet each order 
of filaments retains its original character. If I raise 
my arm. I do so by muscular power, communicated by 
nerves having their true origin in the cerebrum ; the 
same may be said of walking, or of any other action 
under the control of the will. All these voluntary and 
external actions, are done by and through the medium 
of the cerebrum. Thus one great use of the cerebrum, 
is to originate and control the voluntary and sensory 
nerves ; it is thus the souFs medium for external 
knowledge and voluntary action — the great organ of 
what is called Animal Life. Hence pressure on the 
cerebrum, by paralyzing its action, instantly suspends 
all sensation and capability of motion. 

16. But the office of the Cerebellum, the smaller, 
and curiously organized portion of the entire brain, is 



42 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

of another kind. This is the great organ or fountain 
of organic life ; that is, of the life of the internal or- 
gans of the body, and of the involuntary motions : 
the pulsations of the heart ; the circulation of the 
blood ; the digestive actions of the stomach and bowels ; 
the action of the reproductive organs ; in a word, of 
the thousand functions performing within us, and over 
which our will has no control. All these internal 
functions are under the direction and control of nerves 
proceeding directly or indirectly from the cerebellum 
or its appendages ; and this chiefly, by the aid of the 
great sympathetic nerves, and the eighth pair already 
alluded to. 

17. The eighth pair of cranial nerves, called also 
the par vagum, arises from the cerebellum, and its 
connections, and gives off numerous branches which 
ramify plentifully on the stomach and lungs, and in 
fact are continued to nearly all the viscera. The great 
sympathetic nerves differ from all the other nerves in 
the body, both in their arrangement and form : they 
are studded with small kernels called ganglia, or 
knots, into which, and out of which, numberless nerv- 
ous twigs have their entrance and exit ; and in the 
neck, by some of these branches they are connected 
with the par vagum, and thus with the cerebellum. 
These two pairs of important nerves may be considered 
as forming the trunk of the system of the cerebellum, 
just as the spinal marrow forms the trunk of the sys- 
tem of the cerebrum. And to perfect the operation of 
the animal economy, twigs from each are united with 
each other ; and from the great sympathetic with all 
the nerves of the body. Now the existence, and dis- 






PHENOMENA, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 43 

tinct functions of these two brains, and the systems of 
nerves depending on them, must be carefully remem- 
bered, if we would understand the phenomena of Som- 
nolism, or ordinary Mesmerism. And to enable you 
to comprehend the physiology of this wonderful dis- 
covery, I will, as the first step, point out the principal 
difference between a state of wakefulness and sleep, 
and the immediate physical cause of this difference. 

18. During wakefulness, both brains are more or 
less in a state of activity ; but of the action of the 
larger portion — that is of the cerebrum — we are con- 
scious, so that our will bears rule in the animal 
economy, and the sensory nerves convey to the sen- 
sorium within the cerebrum, the various impressions 
made by outward objects. But when sleep seals up 
the eyelids the activity of the cerebrum ceases, and 
hence we become insensible to outward things; and 
then nature, or the involuntary portion of our nervous 
centre — that is the Cerebellum, with its derivatives — 
has the entire control and direction of the animal king- 
dom. It is well known that "balmy sleep" is " tired 
nature's kind restorer," but it is not so generally known, 
that one great reason for the refreshing and restorative 
nature of sleep consists in the complete suspension of 
the faculties of the cerebrum, and the operations of 
nature being carried on by the cerebellum, without any 
of those manifold disturbing causes which arise from 
our voluntary and conscious activities. The cerebrum 
is composed, as I have already observed, of innumer- 
able fibres, originating in little lobules or glands. In 
the active state of this portion of the entire brain, or in 
other words, in the wakeful state, these fibres are e red, 



44 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

and, with their lobules or glands, point towards the cir- 
cumference of the cranium, and there is a capability of 
moving them either singly, or in greater or lesser 
grouj)s ; and hence arises the power of the will to ex- 
ercise such an immense variety of muscular actions, 
and the rapidity and delicacy with which the behests 
of the will are transmitted by the nerves. In a state 
of inactivity or sleep, the fibres collapse, or fall to- 
gether, and hence the capability of this individual ac- 
tion ceases, and a more general or combined action 
only remains possible. This general or combined 
action is similar to the true natural action of the cere- 
bellum, which, from its peculiar organization, is in- 
capable of the individual action which distinguishes 
the cerebrum. But with the cessation of individual 
or separate action in the cerebrum, all ordinary sen- 
sation ceases ; and hence the unconsciousness of a state 
of sound sleep. 

19. Another physical cause for the state of in- 
sensibility in sleep is, that by the collapse, or falling 
together of the fibres of the cerebrum, the blood is pre- 
vented from entering the finer channels of the brain, 
but courses along the pia mater, or membrane invest- 
ing the brain. This is occasioned by a law generally 
overlooked, namely, that the brain has an automatic 
movement of its own, synchronous, not with the action 
of the heart, but with the respiration of the lungs ; 
and on this account the brain has the control of the 
blood circulating within its substance, independant of 
the action of the heart. Hence the vertebral and 
carotid arteries which supply the blood to the brain, 
have a peculiar erratic course, more so than any other 



PHENOMENA^ ETC., OF MESMERISM. 45 

arterial trunks ; and every mechanical precaution is 
taken to impede the propulsive force of the heart, so 
that the brain may imbibe or reject the vital and stim- 
ulating fluid just according to the state induced upon 
it. Whatever, therefore, induces a change in the state 
of the fibres and cortical glands of the cerebrum, 
changes the state of its automatic action, and thence 
produces either somnolency or wakefulness. 

20. Now let us apply these anatomical and physio- 
logical facts to the illustration of mesmeric phenomena, 
and I think we shall be able to understand something 
of the mode by which they are produced, that we shall 
find ourselves in possession of the true key to unlock 
these generally considered mysteries. But first I will 
briefly describe the most usual manifestations. 

21. The simplest visible state is that called mes- 
meric sleep. This I have induced both by the ordinary 
method, and also by Dr. Braid's mode of making the 
patient steadfastly gaze upon some small fixed object, 
called by him Hypnotizing ; but I consider the mes- 
meric mode the best way, where the patient is suscept- 
ible of its influence, and by it, and, as far as my pre- 
sent experience goes, by it only, can the higher 
developments be produced. Whatever the mode of 
operating employed, the primary effect is on the state 
of the cerebrum, which, by modif} T ing the circulation 
of its blood, collapses in various degrees, and thus as- 
sumes the somnolent state. But in using the ordinary 
tnesmeric mode, I altogether discard those formal and 
mystic modes of proceeding sometimes practised and 
recommended by some writers on Animal Magnetism. 
I have reason to believe, as I shall point out in the 



46 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

sequel, that mind is the grand agent in all really 
mesmeric phenomena, and the manipulations are merely 
so many means of fixing mental action. My usual 
mode of proceeding is simply to place the subjects or 
patients in a sitting posture, and take both their hands 
in my left hand, and then place my right hand on their 
head. Where there is any degree of mesmeric sen- 
sibility, this is the best and most gentle mode of pro- 
ceeding ; but in more difficult cases, the desired effect 
may be sooner produced by gentle passes, made from 
the crown of the head over the forehead downwards, 
or, in some cases, by making the passes over the entire 
head backwards. In this simple mesmeric sleep, just 
as in ordinary sleep, we find different degrees of sound- 
ness. Some persons merely feel a little drowsiness ; 
others find it impossible to open the eyelids, and yet 
are perfectly conscious, and, in other respects, awake. 
Other persons of greater susceptibility, either the result 
of continued experiment, or peculiar nervous tempera- 
ment, proceed quickly into a sound sleep, or, as I pro- 
pose to call it, Somnolism. This state may quickly 
pass into one having all the characteristics of som- 
nambulism, or what is commonly called sleep-walking ; 
in fact, I can see no difference between this state and 1 
natural somnambulism, except that the latter is thei 
result of spontaneous natural causes, while the former 
is the direct result of human agency. I have also, 
reason to believe that natural somnambulists will make: 
the best mesmeric subjects. 

22. The induction of the true somnolent state, is all 
that is required to produce the curious and manifold 
phenomena of mesmerism, save and except the higher I 



PHENOMENA, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 47 

stages of cerebral lucidity and clairvoyance. Some of 
these states I will now proceed to notice ; and, first, 
Insensibility to Light and Pain. If the eye of a 
patient in the somnolent state is examined, it will be 
generally found drawn upwards and inwards, and this, 
perhaps, in proportion to the complete development of 
the state ; but it will exhibit little, if any, susceptibility 
to the influence of light. In fact, I have satisfied my- 
self, by repeated and careful observation, that all ex- 
ternal vision is withdrawn. There is the perfect visual 
organ, but the party sees not. There is also the 
healthy skin, with its infinitude of nervous papillae, 
but it exhibits no sign of feeling. The most sensitive 
parts may be pinched, or pricked w^ith needles or pins, 
but the patient will exhibit no consciousness of suffer- 
ing, or, in fact, of any kind of feeling, but will continue 
to converse with the mesmeriser or the experimenter 
without noticing in the least degree the apparently 
painful experiment to which he is being subjected. 
Nay, more, it is an undoubted fact, that the most 
severe surgical operations have been performed, both 
in this country and on the continent, without the patient 
evincing any susceptibility. I will mention one only, 
recorded in the French medical journals, and also in 
the Penny Cyclopaedia, under the article Somnambu- 
lism. An elderly French lady was the subject of cancer 
in the breast. Her physician was a practiser of mes- 
merism, and he had frequently employed that agency, 
in conjunction with other means, to abate, and, if 
possible, cure that dreadful malady. But lie found 
that although he could always allay pain, and put the 
lady into a state of complete ease by mesmerising ] XO v, 



48 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

yet the disease continued its ravages, and the only hope 
was in an operation — that is, by amputating the breast. 
When this only alternative was proposed to her in the 
wakeful or normal state, it produced the most intense 
anguish and apprehension ; but in the abnormal mes- 
meric state, she would calmly discuss the matter with 
her physician and friends. At last the operation was 
determined on, and Jules Colquet, the eminent Parisian 
surgeon, was chosen for the operator. The surgeon, 
in his narrative of the case, says that he found the lady 
seated in a chair, her eyes closed as if in sleep, yet 
conversing with her physician, who had, in fact, put 
her into the mesmeric or somnolent state some short 
time before. She spoke calmly of the intended pro- 
ceedings, removed her own dress to expose her bosom 
to the surgeon's knife, and during the operation, which 
lasted about a quarter of an hour, she conversed cheer- 
fully both with the surgeon and physician who was 
seated by her, and supported the arm on the diseased 
side, without exhibiting the slightest pain or conscious- 
ness of what was going on. The lady was then put to 
bed and carefully attended to, without being awaked 
from the mesmeric state. On the next day but one 
the first dressings were removed — usually a most pain- 
ful trial to the patient — the wound dressed again, and 
then, after the lapse of some hours, she was aroused, 
having been kept for more than two days in the som- 
nolent state. When awakened she was unconscious 
of all that had transpired since she was put into the 
sleep, more than two days before ! When she found 
that her breast had been removed, that the wound had 
again been dressed, and found herself surrounded by 



PHENOMENA, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 49 

anxious and sympathising relatives, her feelings may 
be better imagined than described ! But I will here 
make a cautionary remark. It must not be supposed 
that because persons in a state of somnolency feel no 
pain, that, therefore, they will be unconscious of any 
injury inflicted on them in that state when they return 
to the normal condition ; on the contrary, when they 
are aroused they will feel the effect of any injury just 
in proportion to its severity. Common humanity there- 
fore requires, that experiments made to ascertain the 
state of the sensibility, should be such as only to oc- 
casion transient pain. 

23. Catalepsy, or rigidity of the muscles ; Phan- 
tasy ; Transfer of Feeling from the operator to 
the patient ; and what is called Magnetic Attrac- 
tion. — These are all interesting displays of mesmeric, 
or rather psychic states, and will be better understood 
when we come to the consideration of the psychological 
part of our subject. The facility with which these 
states can be produced depends entirely on the sus- 
ceptibility of the subject. In the majority of cases, 
manipulations, actual contact, or audibly spoken words 
are necessary to produce the desired result ; but in 
some cases the mere volition of the operator is sufficient. 
Thus in case of catalepsy, by merely drawing the hand 
over the patient's arm, that is, in mesmeric language, 
making passes from the shoulder towards the tips of 
the fingers, the muscles of the arms may be rendered 
perfectly rigid, so that by no effort of the patient could 
they be put down, nor could a stranger render them flex- 
ible ; by the application of great force the shoulder joint 
may be moved, but as soon as the pressure is removed 
3 



50 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

the arm will instantly resume the position in which it 
had been placed by the operator. If the hand of a 
person of about the same physical strength as the 
mesmerised subject is placed in the hand of the subject, 
and the fingers made to clasp it, it will be found almost 
impossible to withdraw it, so tight will be the grasp ; 
and yet, notwithstanding this great apparent exertion 
of muscular power, the mesmerised subjects will con- 
tinue to converse on various topics, and evince neither 
mental nor physical consciousness of the power they 
are displaying ! This peculiar characteristic of the 
somnolent state can be most beneficially employed as a 
curative agent in the restoration to strength of palsied 
or weakened limbs, provided the somnolent state can 
be induced on the diseased person. 

24. But the phenomena above alluded to are among 
the simplest of these displays. By a single touch the 
mouth of the patient may be closed, so instantaneously, 
as to leave a word half pronounced ; and by a single 
pass, as speedily set at liberty. Even the nostrils may, 
by a single pinch, be partially closed, so as instantly 
to produce the nasal twang common upon stoppage of 
the nasal passages by cold or otherwise ; and then as 
quickly, by a wave of the hand, be restored to perfect 
freedom. Some patients, while putting themselves into 
various postures, may be instantly rendered immovable 
and statue-like in any posture. If a rod, or any other 
suitable article, be put into the hand, and the hand 
closed by the operator, by no effort can the patient let 
it go, although he may be so far demesmerised as to be 
fully conscious of his state and of all around him. On 
the other hand, by a mere pass of the hand of the mes- 



PHENOMENA, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 51 

meriser, or it may be, by a motion of his will, the 
mesmerised party finds it equally impossible to retain 
his hold. By a single pass or pressure, an individual 
may be rooted, as it were, by his feet to the floor, fixed 
immovable in his chair, or his hands fixed firmly to a 
wall or bench, or any other object. Some of these ex- 
periments are highly interesting and amusing, but the 
most wonderful, and apparently inexplicable, are but 
varied manifestations of the simplest forms of catalepsy, 
and are, as we shall see, explainable by the same sim- 
ple law which also explains other phenomena. 

25. Phantasy. — By this is meant such an action 
on the mind of the mesmerised party, that the mere 
suggestions of the mesmeriser — sometimes not audibly 
expressed, but merely silently willed — are taken for 
realities. Thus a handkerchief may be thrown into 
the lap and silently willed to be a rabbit, a guinea-pig, 
a child, or even any disagreeable object, as a snake, or 
other reptile ; and upon directing the attention to the 
object, as by simply asking " What have you got in 
your lap?" the action and language soon evince that 
it is considered to be just the object the operator wills 
it to be ; nor can the subject conceive it to be anything 
else, or divest himself of the Phantasy. The effects 
of this mere imaginative action will generally be more 
strikingly displayed by touching such of the phreno- 
logical organs as have an affinity with the sentiment or 
feeling intended to be produced. Thus philoprogeni- 
tiveness and benevolence, in case an infant or an in- 
offensive animal is suggested ; and cautiousness, in 
suggesting the idea of a snake, or other disagreeable 
objects. Again, an empty glass may be offered, and 



52 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

by stating it to contain strong hot brandy and water, 
the same coughing and difficulty of swallowing will be 
produced as would follow the attempt to swallow such 
a liquid by a child, or a person wholly unaccustomed to 
it. Then, by taking the glass away and immediately 
presenting it again, saying that it contains cold water, 
but care must be taken lest it cause toothache, im- 
mediately all the effects of an intense cold draught will 
be manifested. Once a mesmeric subject asked me for 
a particular drink; I presented an empty glass and 
silently willed it to be castor oil. No sooner had the 
glass touched the lips than it was dashed away and 
broken to atoms, at the same time the party exclaim- 
ing, " Ah, it's so nasty !" Many more striking and 
interesting experiments may be exhibited, but they may 
be all referred to the same primary causes. 

26. Transfer of State. — By this is meant that 
remarkable phenomena exhibited by good mesmeric 
subjects, in feeling whatever may be done to the mes- 
meriser as done to themselves. This I have witnessed 
so often, and under such a variety of circumstances as 
to admit of no doubt as to its correctness. Thus, on 
one occasion, while lecturing, one of the audience, to 
test the matter, came unawares and pricked my leg. 
I looked round for a moment with surprise and some 
little indignation, but by the time I comprehended the 
motive of the seeming offender, the mesmerised subject 
felt it, and screamed out loudly " that some one had 
pricked her leg," and pointing at the same time to the 
corresponding portion on her own leg which had been 
pricked in mine. At the same time a pin might have 
been thrust really into her leg without her evincing 



PHENOMENA, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 53 

any consciousness. I have got individuals to tread on 
my toes, pull my hair, or pinch different parts of the 
body, and I have invariably found that with this sub- 
ject not many seconds would elapse before she would 
complain of exactly similar treatment, and refer the 
pain to the exact corresponding part ; and sometimes I 
have experienced considerable difficulty in dispelling 
the illusion. These undoubted facts shed much light 
on what may be called the highly spiritualized, or purely 
mental origin of some diseases, and will afford some clue 
to the apparently miraculous manner in which some 
peculiar diseases have been removed. 

27. Phreno-Mesmerism. — This is the name usually 
applied to the manifestation of the phrenological senti- 
ments and feelings of a mesmeric subject. It has been 
considered as affording a triumph to the materializing 
class of phrenologists, and hence has been decried and 
attempted to be set aside by the metaphysical spirit- 
ualists. Possibly both classes of reasoners may be 
wrong. Certainly the mere placing of the finger of 
the operator on any part of the head, and it being fol- 
lowed by the manifestation of a sentiment or feeling 
proper to the organ said to be situated in the part 
touched, is no proof that such organ is really there ; 
because the idea of the feeling or sentiment is in the 
operator's mind, and the fact may be accounted for by 
mesmeric imaginative action and the transfer of feelings. 
Again, anatomy reveals nothing within the cranium 
analogous to the arbitrary divisions marked on phreno- 
logical busts. Besides, when we touch the head, the 
skull prevents us acting directly on the brain ; we only 



54 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

excite the extremities of those cranial nerves which 
ramify in the scalp. On the other hand, the oppor- 
tunities I have had for acquiring experience enables me 
positively to assert, that contact with at least certain 
parts of the head will produce those feelings phreno- 
logically ascribed to those particular portions. Thus, 
for example, I have seen alimentiveness powerfully ex- 
cited in a mesmerised subject who, when left alone for 
a little while, accidentally reclined, so that a portion 
of the head where " alimentiveness" is situated was 
brought into contact with the edge of a table. Again, 
I have seen philoprogenitiveness excited by a subject 
accidentally rubbing the occipital portion of the head 
against a high-backed chair — not to mention other in- 
stances. But this apparent proof of the material view 
of the question is not the whole one ; for I have seen 
some of the phrenological sentiments excited without 
touching the head ! Thus, upon simply taking the 
hand and silently thinking reverently of the Deity, the 
mesmerised subject has fallen down on the knees and 
manifested the most profound veneration. On other 
occasions, when more than one subject had been mes- 
merised, on touching the "organs" on the head of 
one, the other, without any touch or connection, or 
any knowledge of any action, would instantly manifest 
the sentiment. Upon the whole, I think the real evi- 
dence afforded by mesmerism is favorable to phrenology ; 
but I am far from thinking that the evidence properly 
interpreted necessarily leads to that sort of materialism 
which is, by many persons, associated with phrenological 
doctrines. The brain is undoubtedly the mind's organ ; 



PHENOMENA, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 55 

this position remains, whether we suppose the mind 
uses the whole brain in every mental action or only an 
appropriate part. 

28. It has been said that phreno-mesmerism is the 
result of electrical action, and that, in fact, all mes- 
meric action is but an electrical phenomena — the oper- 
ator being positively electrified, the patient negatively 
so. For this, I believe, there is no evidence whatever. 
It is true that electricity may be made to stimulate 
certain vital actions, but it is admitted by the best 
physiologists that there is no identity between them. 
I have carefully experimented, and cannot find that 
there is any perceptible difference between the electrical 
and magnetic state of the mesmerised subject and that 
of the operator, where, according to electrical theory, 
the greatest difference ought to be manifested. What- 
ever name or cause may be assigned to mesmeric agency, 
it is undoubtedly a vital one. It is true, as I observed 
at the outset, that within the living organism are col- 
lated all the powers of the universe ; but they are in 
the organism in its own peculiar manner. The mag- 
netism and chemistry, the attractions and repulsions, 
and the other internal operations of the body, are not 
the magnetism and chemistry, the attractions and re- 
pulsions of outward nature ; but they are living actions , 
analogous to outward cosmical and terrestrial activities, 
but perfectly distinct from them, and existing in a de- 
gree altogether above them. They are, in fact, the 
antitypes of which the types are found in outward 
nature. 

29. With the exception of Cerebral Lucidity, 
magnetic vision, as it is sometimes called, and Clair- 



56 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

voyance, the foregoing classification may be made to 
embrace all ordinary mesmeric or somnolent pheno- 
mena ; lucid and clairvoyant manifestations are so 
evidently of a psychical nature, that before noticing 
them, let us apply ourselves to the solution of the 
physiology of the states we have briefly described. 

30. We have seen that within the skull there are, 
in reality, two distinct brains, although popularly called 
the brain ; that there are two distinct systems of nerves 
connected with these two brains; that by the larger 
brain, or cerebrum, and its nerves, we feel, think, and 
act ; and that it is thus the soul's medium of conscious 
intercourse with the external world. That by the 
cerebellum, or little brain and its nerves, are directed 
and controlled all the involuntary and vegetative func- 
tions of our bodies ; that the brain has an automatic, 
or in other words, an independent action of its own, 
by which it has the control of the blood circulating 
within it, and that in the state of sleep the fibres of 
the cerebrum collapse or fall together, and the blood is 
prevented entering the finer channels and thereby 
stimulating the brain to activity, and that from this 
state of collapse and altered circulation of the blood 
arises the unconsciousness and insensibility of profound 
sleep. 

31. The true mesmeric action is, as will be presently 
shown, primarily and fundamentally of a psychological 
character, but it induces a peculiar physiological state. 
The direct effect of the passes, or whatever means 
are employed, is to produce a somnolent state of the 
brain, in some respects resembling common sleep, but 
in others widely differing from it. When the true 






PHENOMENA, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 57 

mesmeric, or rather psychical, relation between the 
operator and his subject is established, the cerebrum of 
the latter is rendered dormant, the cerebellum and its 
dependencies alone preserving their normal state. In 
the first place all consciousness appears to be sus- 
pended, but by degrees an inner consciousness ', similar 
to the consciousness of dreaming is awakened, and from 
this inner consciousness the somnolized person speaks 
and acts. The optic nerves and the other nerves of 
the eye belong to the cerebrum, hence one of the first 
visible effects of mesmeric influence is an inability to 
open the eyelids, although the eyeball may be as yet 
uninfluenced ; but as the somnolent state continues, the 
optic nerves, or nerves of sight contract, and the ball 
of the eye rolls upwards, and all power and perception 
of vision is withdrawn. Then, as observed, with the in- 
crease of the somnolency the fountain-head of all the other 
sensory nerves becomes dormant, and that of the motory 
too, in a partial degree. The sensorium being by this 
change in the internal state of the cerebrum removed 
from its connection with the external world, all sense 
of pain is of course absent ; and hence the seeming 
mysterious phenomenon of a person conversing with an- 
other and yet being unconscious of feeling, is at once 
solved by a knowledge of the simple fact, that the state 
of the cerebrum is changed by the somnolent influence, 
and an inner consciousness awakened. 

32. Another physiological state, arising also prim- 
arily from a psychological cause, is now perceptible ; 
for although the operator and his subject or subjects 
are of course two or more persons, yet, in respect to 
cerebral action, or inore distinctly, in respect to the 
3* 



58 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

action of the cerebrum, they are one. In each person 
the cerebellum and its system of nerves is in the normal 
condition, but there is only one normal and active cere- 
brum, namely, that of the mesmeriser or operator. 
Hence, however many may be the subjects, if they have 
all been mesmerised by the same operator, and are all 
fully susceptible of the somnolent influence, they are all 
so intimately, interiorly blended with him, that the ab- 
sence of their own external cerebral consciousness causes 
them to feel his cerebral consciousness as their own. 
Here then we discover the physiological reason for the 
strange and anomalous states exhibited. Thus, in cases 
of phantasy, the idea existing externally in the cere- 
brum of the mesmeriser is, when willed by him, per- 
ceived by the subject as if existing in his or her cere- 
brum. So also in cases of catalepsy, the somnolency 
of the subject's cerebrum permits those muscles which 
are influenced by the voluntary nerves to be actuated 
by the will of the operator's cerebrum. Hence, in the 
best cases, the silent operation of the mesmeriser's will, 
that is, of the power of his cerebrum, is sufficient to 
throw the subject into a state of statue-like rigidity ; 
but generally it requires the aid of passes, which de- 
termine more efficaciously the downward nervous cur- 
rents. Hence, also, any pain inflicted on the operator, 
which, of course, he feels in the sensorium connected 
with the origin of the sensory nerves, is felt as if the 
impression was made on the cerebrum of the subject. 

33. But we shall generally find that although sight 
and feeling are withdrawn the subject retains a perfect 
capability of Hearing. He may sometimes be so in- 
drawn as to evince no perception of sound, similar, in 



PHENOMENA, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 59 

this respect, to a person engaged in deep thought ; but 
by patiently persevering until the attention is excited, 
or the desire of the operator is felt, we shall generally 
be able to demonstrate that the sense of hearing re- 
mains. Yet by no means can sight and feeling be 
restored except by partially or wholly demesmerising 
the subject. This fact may be thought to militate 
against the theory of cerebral action I am endeavoring 
to inculcate, but it in reality tends to confirm it — for 
the nerve of hearing, which is a portion of the seventh 
pair of cranial nerves, has its roots in what is called 
the corpora restiformia^ which is directly connected 
with the cerebellum. Sight is solely under the direc- 
tion of the cerebrum, and we can exert that faculty or 
not at our pleasure, but we cannot help hearing if we 
are within the influence of sound, that is, by no organ- 
ism connected with our ears can we shut out sound. 
The ears of a person in deep sleep are still open to the 
modulations of the air, on which sound depends ; but 
the dormant state of the cerebrum prevents the con- 
scious perception of sound, unless it is so loud as to 
produce that state of partial wakefulness on which 
dreaming depends ; and the mesmerised party is con- 
scious of sound, because, as we have already observed, 
the state of inner consciousness is in some respects 
analogous to the state of dreaming. But hearing is not 
so entirely dependent on the cerebellum as the internal 
involuntary functions, but is somewhat of a mixed 
nature, like the functions of respiration. 

34. Here then is the whole physiology of the mes 
meric or somnolent state, and the reason for the seem- 
ing mystery and contrariety to our usual feelings and 



60 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

common experience. The cerebrum of the subject is 
dormant, the cerebellum continues its normal state 
of activity, while, from the peculiar relationship of the 
parties, to which we shall presently allude, the cere- 
brum of the operator dominates over his subject, and 
is, in a degree, the common cerebrum of both parties. 



PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY OF 
MESMERISM. 

35. Clairvoyance. — Of all the extraordinary phe- 
nomena of mesmerism, none appear to stagger the 
general belief more than the different manifestations of 
clairvoyance or magnetic vision, or to speak more truly 
and plainly, the internal sight of the soul. To say 
that a person can see without the aid of the eye, or by 
any other means than light entering into the pupil of 
the eye in the usual manner, seems like uttering an 
absurdity, or declaring the possibility of an impossi- 
bility. Yet, strange as it may sound to those who 
have had no experience in this matter, there is no 
mesmeric phenomena more capable of positive proof, 
provided the necessary care be taken in making the 
experiment, and the subject be placed in proper cir- 
cumstances; and I trust this evening to afford you 
ocular demonstration of the fact. 

36. But before proceeding further, I wish that it may 
be distinctly impressed upon you, that when we care- 
fully examine the eye and the brain, we shall see 






PHILOSOPHY, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 61 

reason to acknowledge that an internal function of 
sight, although remarkable and unexpected, and gen- 
erally unknown, is not more difficult to explain than 
ordinary vision when thoroughly examined. On re- 
ferring to the human eye, or any correct representation 
of it, we shall find that it is a hollow ball, filled with 
three different kinds of fluids arranged in a determinate 
order. In front is a horny transparent lens, some- 
thing like a small watch-glass, to admit the rays of 
light ; behind it is the small chamber containing the 
aqueous humor, then a hole, called the pupil y through 
the iris, to allow the rays of light from different objects 
to pass into the interior parts of the eye, first passing 
through the crystalline lens and through the vitreous 
humor, and then forming an image of the objects on 
the delicate membrane called the retina, which is spread 
out on the back of the eye. Now up to this point or- 
dinary vision may be explained on optical principles, 
and the eye shown to be the most perfect optical in- 
strument. But the moment we attempt to pass beyond 
the retina, science is at fault ; no natural philosopher 
has been able to explain how the optic nerve conveys 
the image to the brain ; we know that the mind is con- 
scious of the images formed on the retina — or, in more 
familiar language, of the things seen by the eyes — but 
in what manner an opaque nervous cord, differing in no 
essential particulars from other nervous cords, conveys 
that impression to the mind, we are entirely ignorant. 
Ordinary sight has, therefore, a psychological basis — 
and this is admitted by the best physiologists. 

37, Clairvoyance, or internal sight, assumes the same 
Pasis necessary to perfect ordinary vision ; but as it 



62 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

acts independently of the external visual organs, so it 
is not trammelled by those natural laws to which they 
are necessarily subject. Thus by this internal sight, 
and by light issuing from within, and not from without, 
as in common sight, things may be seen which are out 
of the range of natural sight, and altogether above its 
nature. For instance, our physical sight can see the 
remote starry orbs, placed at the distance of perhaps 
thousands of millions of miles, because the undulations 
of light proceeding from them in straight lines can im- 
pinge, or strike upon the retina of our eyes. Yet the 
intervention of any opaque body immediately shuts out 
the vision of the object, even if placed in close con- 
nection with us ; so that if our penetrating powers of 
sight were immensely increased, whether naturally or 
artificially, still the rotundity and opacity of the earth 
would prevent us seeing beyond a certain distance. But 
opacity is no barrier to internal sight ; objects to which 
the mind is directed, either designedly or spontaneously, 
will be equally visible through doors and walls as if 
placed directly before the face. Nay, to the higher 
stages of clairvoyance there seems, comparatively speak- 
ing, no bounds ; for whether the object sought be in 
the same house, or town, or country, or across the 
broad Atlantic, or still remoter Pacific oceans, it ap- 
pears to be found and seen with equal facility, and to 
be equally near to the internal perception of the truly 
clairvoyant individual. The human body is seen as 
clearly, and its living actions described as plainly, as 
if the external and internal parts were alike as trans 
parent as glass, and this also, without any bodily con- 
nection, such as by bringing the clairvoyant and the 






PHILOSOPHY, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 63 

person to be described together, but, as I have proved, 
when more than one hundred miles have intervened be- 
tween them. 

38. But we have now arrived at a stage in our en- 
quiry where physiology ceases to afford us light ; for 
physiology as such, that is, as the science of our outward 
living organism, knows nothing of an internal or super- 
solar light, or of sight that can penetrate alike through 
opaque and transparent substances. To psychology 
and philosophy we must therefore look for aid in our 
endeavor to investigate the apparent mystery of this 
interesting subject. And I regret that the abstruse 
nature of the enquiiy, the little that is generally known 
in this branch of knowledge, together with the neces- 
sary brevity of popular lectures, will only permit me to 
present you with a sketch of the views opened to the 
eye of rational research. 

39. It is usual to represent man as composed of 
mind and matter — Soul and body. This is correct. 
And as we find that the body is not a mere simple un- 
compounded substance, but a collection of innumerable 
parts and organs, so, by parity of reasoning, we may 
conclude, that the mind, or spiritual body, as the pa- 
rent and director of the natural body, cannot be that 
simple entity, that abstract nothingness so generally 
represented by metaphysical writers ; but rather that 
the controller of the animal organism must be itself or- 
ganized according to the laws of its own peculiar nature, 
and capable of manifesting those laws, under certain 
circumstances, through those organs of the body, that 

Sis, of the brain and nervous system, which are united 
with it by the law of correspondent activity and eon- 



64 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

nection. St. Paul, therefore, spoke the language of 
the profoundest philosophy, when he declared that there 
were spiritual bodies and natural bodies, and that the 
natural body was the first in its development, and 
afterwards the spiritual body ; and when, on another 
occasion, he defined the entire human organism, as exist- 
ing here, to be a compound of " spirit, soul, and body/ 5 
in this respect giving his apostolic sanction to the doc- 
trine of the ancient sages of Greece. The two first 
• terms used by the apostle to describe the spiritual part 
of man, are, in the original Greek, Pneuma and 
Psyche, and the latter term, which in our version of 
the Scriptures is, in the passage alluded to, translated 
soul, is, by the Latin writers called the " animus ;" 
and this term is always used to signify the animal soul, 
as distinguished from the pneuma, or more interior 
human spirit. 

40. And here it will be as well to observe, that no 
truth is more evident to sound rational enquiry than 
that the Creator has given to every department of his 
u handy- work" a specific character, and that from the 
Creator to the lowest inert matter, there exists a chain 
of degrees — and that each object of creation can only 
be well and truly studied by viewing it in its own de- 
gree, and comparing it with objects in another degree. 
But if we confound this distinction of degrees, we shall 
never arrive at a clear and satisfactory solution of many 
important facts. Each degree will be found to have 
laws or properties peculiar to itself, and if we transcend 
the degree of the object of our enquiry, by applying to 
it qualities or properties belonging to another distinct 
degree, we may expect nothing but confusion and mys- 



PHILOSOPHY, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 65 

tery. Now, in our investigation of the nature of man, 
it is especially necessary not to overlook these dis- 
tinctions. By no process can matter be sublimed into 
spirit ; and spirit having, according to apostolic author- 
ity, and the general law of analogy observable in all 
things, its distinctions and degrees, the properties of 
the lower degree may not apply to a higher one. True 
philosophy also teaches, that if spirit in no degree is 
material, that is, does not possess those properties which 
we apply to ponderable matter, still it is no less on 
that account a truly real and substantial existence — 
more truly substantial than the granite rock, because, 
more unchanging and more enduring. 

41. Now viewing the spiritual organism of man as 
consisting of two distinct degrees, called by the apostle 
the pneuma and psyche, or as possessing both a spirit- 
ual internal and external, together forming, while in 
this mortal life, the common internal of the natural 
organism, the Psyche or Animus will be the connect- 
ing medium between the pure human spirit and the 
nervous system of the natural body. By its connec- 
tion, through correspondence and vital affinity, with the 
body, it is placed in relation with outward nature, while 
as a spiritual entity, and by its indissoluble union with 
the higher spiritual principle, it has, at the same time, 
immediate connection with the spirit-world ; and be- 
cause it is a subject of the laws, and possesses the 
properties of that world which have nothing in common 
with time, space^ or common matter , it displays those 
powers which can be explained by no merely natural 
or physiological knowledge, but which receive an easy, 
rational, and satisfactory solution, when man is really 



66 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

seen to be that which revelation, philosophy, and the 
statements of true clairvoyants declare that he is — 
namely, a compound of spiritual and natural organisms 
intimately united by the exactest correspondence or 
analogy. And that although the lower, or natural or- 
ganism, cannot act without the continued influence of^ 
the higher, or spiritual organism, nor can the spiritual 
organism be developed without the medium of the 
natural one, yet, when developed, the higher organism 
can act, not only by and through the lower organism, 
but even independently and when disconnected from it. 

42. It is this psyche or animus — the external of the 
spirit — that, from all that I have yet learned on the sub- 
ject, I take to be the true seat of what is called mes- 
meric influence ; the psyche, or animal soul of the 
operator, influences the same external spiritual organic 
principle in the subject, and from the animus the in- 
fluence flows downwards, to use analogous natural 
terms, and thence affects the brain and nervous system 
— and hence I propose to call that part of mesmerism, 
which manifests mental and super-sensual phenomena, 
by the name of Psycheism, or, the Science of the Soul 
as manifested in nature — while to the lower and phys- 
ical stages, the name of Somnolism may be applied, 
as indicative of its sleep-like and dream-like character. 

43. Now as to the psychological change induced by 
mesmerism. — It is a common law of our being that 
conscious perception should have its apparent seat in 
the ultimate, or extreme, of every development. Thus, 
although it is a well-established fact, that the sensorium 
is within the brain, and that if a sensory nerve be di- 
vided, no sensation will be experienced, yet it is as well 



OF MESMERISM. 67 

known that if we prick a finger, the pain will be felt 
where the wound is inflicted. So, notwithstanding the 
body feels and acts by and through the spirit, our con- 
# scious perception, in the usual normal condition, is 
confined to the bodily organization — because, while in 
the present state, the body is the ultimate development 
of the spirit. When death severs the connection be- 
tween mind and body, the ultimate of the immortal 
man is the psyche or animus, and to it is transferred 
all conscious perceptions and sensations. It is from 
this differing seat of the conscious perceptions that, in 
our ordinary state, we have no sensational knowledge 
of the spirit- world, or of its laws. But psycheism, or 
the higher stage of mesmerism, may aptly be compared 
to partial death — for it is a closing of the common ex- 
ternal of our being, a transfer of the sensational per- 
ceptions from the ultimate of the body to the ultimate 
of the spirit — and thence, and simply from this trans- 
fer of ultimates, arises an awakening of the conscious 
sensational perception of the inner man, or spirit. All 
those apparently miraculous powers which we sometimes 
see displayed by good mesmeric subjects, are, in fact, 
but the result of the psyche or animus being so far set 
free from the bodily ultimate as to enable the spiritual 
body to act nearly, if not quite independently of the 
sensual organs, and by perception, and in light from an 
inner world ; but the connection of the mind and body 
is yet sufficient to enable the soul's sight and feeling to 
be manifested to our physical senses by and through 
the natural organization of a clairvoyant. 

44. From this transfer of consciousness and sensa- 
tional perception, we may also account for the anoma- 



68 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

lous, and often incongruous, statements and descriptions 
of clairvoyants. They forget much of that mode of 
speaking of things which is common to our external 
condition, but which, in itself, is often purely arbitrary 
and conventional ; and they speak according to their 
newly-awakened and uninformed consciousness. As 
we have to learn to talk, and even to see, or rather 
rightly to interpret what the eye reveals, so do clair- 
voyants require a continued exercise of their peculiar 
power to familiarize them with its use. 

45. We now proceed to explain the manner by which 
the influence of the operator is brought to bear upon 
his subject, and that sometimes too, at considerable dis- 
tance ; for I have found a subject affected by my in- 
fluence, even when mesmerising another party, at the 
distance of a mile — but this may be considered an un- 
usual case. It is a law of nature that all things should 
be surrounded by an effluvium or sphere which emanates 
from them, and is always of the peculiar nature or 
quality of the body from which it emanates ; and these 
effluvia are regulated by certain definite laws. Thus 
the fragrance which surrounds the rose is the effluvium 
or sphere emanating from it ; and this effluvium, by 
being dissolved in the surrounding serial atmosphere, 
becomes sensible to our organs of smell, and an idea of 
its existence and quality is then transmitted to our 
general sensorium. But there are effluvia of which we 
should for ever remain ignorant, did we not perceive 
them rationally by their effects. Thus around mag- 
netized and unmagnetized iron, an effluvium or sphere 
prevails, of which, in their separated state, our senses 
give us no evidence. But we have only to bring them 



PHILOSOPHY, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 69 

into such proximity as to be within the influence of the 
law regulating the activity of their respective spheres, 
and their existence may then be instantly perceived in 
their mutual attraction and coherence. For it has been 
shown by one of the profoundest of philosophers, that 
these single spheres have the property of blending into 
one larger sphere, and that hence arises what is called 
magnetic attraction. 

46. One of the results of the higher stages of clair- 
voyance, or independent internal sight, is the know- 
ledge, that an effluvium or sphere analogous to what we 
have alluded to, surrounds the mental organism or spirit- 
ual body of every individual. Following the general 
law of nature, this sphere possesses the peculiar mental 
qualities of the organism from which it emanates. And 
hence arises the repugnance which is felt to the society 
of some persons, and the pleasure which is experienced 
in the company of others ; and to it are referable all 
the remarkable instances of Sympathy and Antip- 
athy so frequently observed. But in these ordinary 
cases the active cause is latent or hidden; yet in the 
higher mesmeric, or rather psychic state, it often be- 
comes sufficiently obvious even to our physical senses, 
for we may here see that, similar to what we have said 
of terrestrial magnetism, there is an actual blending of 
spheres. The magnet induces its state on the iron, so 
that it becomes magnetical ; and the operator induces his 
sphere on his patient or subject, so that the subject be- 
comes, as it were, one body with himself — the egoism 
or self-consciousness of the one being blended with the 
egoism or self-consciousness of the other. 

47. Here then is the psychological cause for the 



70 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

physiological state already mentioned. The change 
of state induced upon the animus of the subject is the 
primary cause of the change in the condition of the 
cerebrum ; the collapse of the cerebrum closes the ex- 
ternal consciousness, while the union of the spheres 
emanating from the animus of both operator and sub- 
ject, causes the latter to perceive, as in himself, what 
really is felt in the active cerebrum of the former. 
And this change of state affords, I believe, the true 
psychological solution of the whole apparent mystery 
of catalepsy, phantasy, and many other curious mes- 
meric phenomena. As regards phreno-mesmerism, the 
arousing into activity one particular organ of the brain, 
as it would be called by one class of phrenologists, or 
faculty of the mind, as it would perhaps be called by 
another class, without the guidance, control, or balanc- 
ing powers of the other organs or faculties, is a sufficient 
reason for the effects we see displayed. 

48. But although the transfer of consciousness, and 
the blending of the spheres of the operator and subject, 
will account for many curious and otherwise inexpli- 
cable phenomena, it does not account for independent 
clairvoyance. Nor do I think it can be reasonably ac- 
counted for, but on the grounds already intimated — 
namely, the awakening of the sensational consciousness 
of the external of the immortal body, that is, of the 
psyche or animus. For I reject as purely hypothetical, 
altogether without evidence, and contrary to established 
laws, that theory which would attempt to solve it by 
an imaginary change of poles, or the transfer of life 
from the animal to the organic system. According to 
the latter theory, the lowest mollusk ought to possess a 



PHILOSOPHY, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 71 

more extended and spiritual perception than man ; and 
man is to be spiritually elevated by being degraded to 
a level with the lowest forms of organic life. 

49. The great difficulty hitherto experienced in ar- 
riving at a knowledge of the real cause of clairvoyance, 
has arisen from two causes ; first, the different states 
of the clairvoyant subject and the observer, and the im- 
possibility of their having the same sensational per- 
ceptions — so that the observer cannot sensationally 
perceive how the clairvoyant sees, nor can the clair- 
voyant adequately describe his perceptions. And, 
secondly, the necessity for the opening of a higher de- 
gree of consciousness in order fully to comprehend the 
lower. For instance, an animal can have no proper 
idea of its own nature ; but man is enabled, by the 
possession of an internal spiritual principle, rationally 
and sensationally to investigate his animal body. And 
the mere induction of the faculty of clairvoyance does 
not enable the possessor of that faculty sensationally 
to perceive the cause of that phenomenon ; this re- 
quires the awakening of a higher consciousness, though 
still probably belonging to the psyche, or animal part 
of the spiritual organism. But in this respect I have 
an advantage over most enquirers, in possessing a sub- 
ject, who in addition to the ordinary induced mesmeric 
extasis or trance, has repeatedly been in states of spon- 
taneous extasis of a far higher and more interior char- 
acter, and the reality of these states has been proved 
to me by the most convincing evidence. One striking 
difference between these two states is, that whatever 
occurs to, or is seen by, the ordinary mesmeric extatic, 
is completely forgotten, or, more correctly, is altogether 



72 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

unknown upon the return to the normal state, while 
the true extatic, or subject of the Superior state, as 
Davis, the American clairvoyant styles it, upon return- 
ing to the normal condition, recollects all that has been 
manifested to him in the abnormal condition. This 
singular fact receives an easy solution, if we admit the 
psychological doctrine, that man possesses both an in- 
ternal and external memory. In the normal wakeful 
condition these memories act as a one, and hence we 
are only conscious of one memory. In the abnormal 
state of induced mesmerism, the internal memory is 
active while the external is dormant ; and from this 
want of connection between the two memories arises 
the oblivion invariably witnessed. But in the superior 
state, or true spiritual extasis, both memories are ac- 
tive, but from a more interior degree than in ordinary 
life; and hence the extatic subject can recollect in the 
normal state what has transpired in the spontaneous 
abnormal state, and, at the same time, possesses a full 
consciousness of the great difference between these 
states, so as not to confound the perceptions and know- 
ledges of one with those of the other. 

50. A remarkable revealment of this superior state, 
or spontaneous extasis is, that every man while in this 
mortal life, is by the very laws of his being, and hence, 
of course, by the design of the Creator, intimately, 
though unconsciously, associated with the spirit-world, 
and this especially by what may be styled his associate 
spirit, and that in the memory of this associated spirit 
is, as it were, a reflection of all that exists in the me- 
mory of the associated man ; so that distinctly to per- 
ceive the associated spirit is tantamount to a full per- 



PHILOSOPHY, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 73 

ception of the character ', both mentally and physically, 
of the associated man, as well as of the information 
possessed by him. There is also a reflection of the 
natural organism of the man, both externally and in- 
ternally, and also of the scenery perceivable by his 
natural senses. 

51. A true clairvoyant is one who, by the opening 
of the internal consciousness, has a sensational per- 
ception of the objects of an inner or spirit- world, that 
is, provided the clairvoyance exists in a sufficient de- 
gree. If the attention of the clairvoyant is directed to 
any individual, the effect is to bring the clairvoyant 
into a sensational connection with the associate spirit 
of the person sought for ; and from the normal recol- 
lections being treasured up in the internal memory, 
while the external memory, and all immediately con- 
nected with it is quiescent^ this associate spirit appears 
to the clairvoyant to be the real individual sought — 
and from this source, and the reflection of memory 
above alluded to, is often obtained much of the inform- 
ation the clairvoyant is able to communicate respecting 
persons and scenery. But as man, even in this mortal 
life, is internally a true spiritual organism, and as such 
is, as we have already observed, a subject of the laws 
of the spirit-world, a clairvoyant may have a sensa- 
tional perception of this spiritual organism, and thence 
of the natural organism, and thus of the entire man 
himself, however distant they may be from each other 
as to their natural bodies. Yet still, it is probable, that 
this direct connection is mediately effected by tlu k aid 
of the associate spirit. Here then is the simple and 
rational, though deeplv interesting solution of the un- 
4 



74 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

doubted fact, that by clairvoyance the actual condition 
of a person totally unknown to the mesmeriser and his 
subject , and across the broad Atlantic, has been cor- 
rectly told. This I have seen extremely useful in a 
medicinal view — for by directing the attention of a 
sufficiently lucid clairvoyant to a distant patient, the 
disease under which the patient was laboring has been 
discovered, and every interior organ of the body de- 
scribed, both as to its actual condition and general 
action. 

52. Most clairvoyants, strictly so called, are also 
lucid, that is, they can see natural objects by an in- 
terior perception, independent of the usual visual or- 
gans, and, on this account, even when opaque sub- 
stances intervene. How the impression of these out- 
ward objects is conveyed to the sensorium is difficult to 
understand; the fact that such is the case cannot be 
doubted by any one who has carefully examined the 
subject. In ordinary vision the mind does not actually 
contemplate the outward visible object, but the per- 
ception of that object as existing in the imagination. 
I do not use the term, in the sense of mere fancy, as is 
sometimes done ; but by imagination I mean the general 
"power of the sensorium to form images within itself 
of objects that are without itself I, therefore, con- 
sider it a true and proper faculty of the psyche, or 
animal mind, and thence as a sense above the ordinary 
senses of the body, and to which they are subservient. 
For it is by the outward senses, which depend on nerv- 
ous influence, and their connection with this inward 
Image-forming faculty, that mind and matter are 
brought into mutual relationship and connection. 



PHILOSOPHY, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 75 

Whether, therefore, it is by ordinary sight, by cerebral 
lucidity, or by«the suggestions of another's mind, that 
the ideas of the objects are transmitted to the senso- 
rium, they are equally subjects of the image-forming 
faculty when there, and equally real. I have partially 
demesmerised a lucid subject, so as to restore the 
normal conscious state, without demesmerising the eyes, 
and by that means produced conscious lucidity. Every 
thing was then stated to be seen in a most brilliant 
light, altogether different to common light, whether 
solar or artificial ; and at the same time all the sur- 
rounding objects were seen at once, and yet a sense of 
their separate identity remained. Generally they 
seemed greatly magnified, and to have more or less of 
brilliancy about them ; all which seems to indicate that 
the independent action of the sensorium produces more 
vivid images of the objects impressed upon it ; and this 
might be expected from the exaltation of the senses by 
the opening of the perceptions of a higher ultimate. 

53. We have now taken a brief survey of the prin- 
cipal mesmeric phenomena, and endeavored to account 
for them, as far as experience, observation, and reason, 
and necessary brevity will permit. Before concluding, 
I will notice two questions often proposed, though not 
always in the spirit of calm enquiry, but rather in that 
of querulous objection. It is asked, " Whether all 
persons are subject to mesmeric influence ? and why 
all cannot be made clairvoyant V* In reply to the first, 
I answer unreservedly, that I believe all persons are 
susceptible of mesmeric influence, but in a very different 
degree ; and this difference we might anticipate from 
the widely differing nervous temperaments and idiosyn- 



76 SOMNOLISM AND PSYCHEISM. 

crasies of individuals. Some will scarcely feel the in- 
fluence, while others will soon fall into the " sleep." 
But as regards the curative influence of mesmerism, 
experience has fully proved that very great benefit may 
be derived without any loss of consciousness, or even 
any perceptible change of state. Yet the inducing of 
the coma, or mesmeric sleep, generally gives the opera- 
tor more power over the patient. Let it be remem- 
bered, that the great use of mesmeric influence is as a 
curative agent, auxiliary or supplemental to medicine, 
and that the various exhibitions of catalepsy, phantasy, 
phreno-mesmerism, etc., are only useful as manifesta- 
tions of the true nature and capabilities of the human 
organism. With respect to the second question I would 
observe, that I have been enabled to learn, that lucidity 
and clairvoyance can only be developed in individuals 
who possess a peculiar cerebral organization. This pe- 
culiar organization may be normal in some few cases, 
that is, it may consist with a good state of health ; but 
in many cases it may be traced to some affection of the 
brain consequent on disease, and the possessor of the 
faculty will be delicate in health, and less fitted for the 
ordinary avocations of life. It is not, therefore, a 
faculty to be generally looked for or desired ; but where 
it does exist, it may be most beneficially employed; 
and, on the other hand, it may, like all other things, be 
abused, though possibly, not without ultimately entail- 
ing punishment on the offender. In proper hands it 
may be advantageously used to ascertain the cause of 
disease, and the best method of effecting a cure ; and 
it affords us a means to acquire most interesting in- 



PHILOSOPHY, ETC., OF MESMERISM. 77 

formation as to the true nature of our indwelling im- 
mortal spirit. 

54. In conclusion, permit me to observe, that a calm 
investigation of the psychical phenomena developed by 
mesmerism, may become of great use in furthering the 
interests of religion and morality. By this means we 
may demonstrate that there is an internal way to the 
mind, as well as the usual external way of the outward 
senses. This, although admitted by believers in the 
authority of the Holy Scriptures, has been generally 
denied by an influential class of writers. It also tends 
to illustrate and confirm some of those striking and in- 
teresting Scripture narratives which have been so often 
assailed by scepticism and infidelity ; and it presents 
man to us, both in his relation to the spirit- world and 
the natural world, being, even while tabernacling in 
mortal flesh, as to his interior, mental, or spiritual or- 
ganism, in direct communication with a spiritual world, 
and thus capable, by the very laws of his being, of re- 
ceiving influences from God and spiritual intelligences, 
while, by his material organism, he is constituted in 
direct relation with all outward things. Man is thus 
presented to us just in the light we might expect, con- 
sidering that he is the crowning work of the Great 
Creator's skill. For we may see that he is really and 
truly that link in the great chain of creation, which 
God has made to join heaven to earth and earth to 
heaven ! 



APPENDIX, 



MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 

1. E. L., the young woman who is the chief subject of the 
following notes, is a native of Worcestershire. She is about 
five feet two inches in height, rather sallow complexion, and of 
a nervous-bilious temperament. Her health, although at times 
tolerably good, is not robust, nor is she capable of much con- 
tinued exertion. Before coming into my house, she had been 
the subject of inflammatory disease of the chest, and of fever, 
and not long before coming to Bolton, she had been an inmate 
of the General Hospital, Birmingham, on account of an injury 
received in the knee. The treatment there had reduced her 
general health, but improved the knee. She was in this state 
when I first saw her. Her head is well formed and fully de- 
veloped. Before the time about to be referred to, she was 
wholly ignorant that she possessed any peculiar mesmeric sus- 
ceptibilities. She has since expressed an opinion, that the ex- 
traordinary condition of her brain is the result of a very large 
dose of opium, which she once took by mistake, and which, for 
a day or two, occasioned very serious symptoms. But this may 
be considered as very doubtful. She completed her twenty- 
second year in December, 1848. She will be constantly re- 
ferred to by the name of Emma. 

2. Towards the close of the autumn of 1 846, my attention was 
directed to the action of the vapor of ether in obliterating the sense 
of pain — it having been recently brought into public notice for 
that purpose. Before this time I had seen the vapor of ether 
used as a substitute for the nitric oxyde, or laughing gas, and had 






MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 79 

noticed the intoxicating and exciting effects it produced ; but I 
was, like others, ignorant that it blunted, and in some cases, 
entirely removed, the sense of pain. Hearing me talk of the 
effects of ether, Emma said that a cousin of hers had " mesmer- 
ised" her and another young woman with ether, which they 
" sucked" out of a bottle — indeed, she called it " The mesmerise" 
Being anxious to test the truth of the reports then in circula- 
tion, I asked her if she had any objection to let me see her in- 
hale some of the vapor ? She replied, " None at all, for she 
had no fear of its hurting her." I, therefore, fitted up a com- 
mon Winchester quart bottle, merely by putting a piece of 
brass tubing through the cork, which went halfway down the 
bottle, and two or three inches above it. About half an ounce 
of sulphuric ether was put into the bottle, and the bottle well 
shaken, to mix the vapor with the contained air ; I then gave it 
her, and told her to put the pipe to her mouth and gently draw 
in the air in the bottle, without closing the nose, or using any 
of the valvular apparatus then in use. In less than five minutes 
I observed that her hands began to loosen their hold of the bottle, 
which I then removed, the pupils of her eyes became dilated, 
and presently the eyelids closed. I now found her insensible 
to pain, or rather to evince no feeling, which was ascertained 
in various ways, such as pinching and pricking various parts of 
the body, endeavoring to excite tittilation, and even by thrust- 
ing pins under the finger nails, but she did not evince the 
slightest consciousness of these experiments ; on the contrary, 
she was soon in a merry mood, and believed herself to be 
among her old companions in her native place, rambling through 
fields, and performing, as she supposed, many rural and do- 
mestic occupations. She would laugh, dance, sing, and do 
many things which were suggested to her ; but when awakened, 
she had scarcely any, if any, recollection of what had occurred. 
These abnormal states were continued longer than intended, 
on account of the difficulty experienced in arousing her; for, 
on one or two occasions, nearly two hours were expended in 
fully restoring her. 

3. Other individuals were now tried, but only one was found. 



80 APPENDIX. 

at that time, at all similar to her in susceptibility to the ethereal 
influence, and that was a youth who had been mesmerised by 
Mr. Spencer Hall, when that gentleman was lecturing in 
Bolton. The same bottle, in like manner, with about half an 
ounce of ether in it, was given to him, and in five minutes 
he became insensible, and then exhibited similar phenomena 
to Emma, but not so striking. He talked and acted, and, 
like her, imagined himself to be in another place than 
where he really was. In about half an hour he spontaneously 
awakened. 

4. The very small quantity of ether subsequently found suf- 
ficient, merely enough to scent the bottle, induced an opinion 
that, in Emma's case, the ether had very little to do with the 
strange things witnessed, but that she was, in a manner, mes- 
merised, or rather hypnotized, by looking at the bottle while 
inhaling through the tube. It was therefore resolved to try 
another experiment. One evening I told her to sit down, and 
taking a small pocket-comb desired her to look steadfastly at it. 
She did so, and in a few minutes fell into the simple mesmeric 
or hypnotic sleep. Afterwards a small magnet was used for 
the same purpose and with the same results. A few days 
further on, I mesmerised her in the usual mode, that is, by 
looking fixedly at her. The youth mentioned above was also 
submitted to a similar experiment, by causing him to gaze 
steadfastly on a small magnet held a few inches from his eyes. 
In both cases, results were obtained similar to those following 
the use of the ether, namely, insensibility to pain, and a sort of 
somnambulic wakeful dreaming. In both these cases the only 
difference yet perceptible between the effects of the ether and 
those resulting from hypnotizing or mesmerising was, that by 
the latter mode the limbs could be made rigid — cataleptic, as it 
is called — while no such rigidity could be induced after the in- 
halation of the ether. Up to this time, dancing, singing, and 
doing various things which were audibly suggested, as if they 
were real, and rigidity of the limbs, after downward passes, 
were the only phenomena noticed ; and it was thought that 
the statements made by some writers, of the personal influence 



MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 81 

of the operator over the subject, were merely fanciful, and not 
warranted by fact. 

5. Some time in the summer of 1847, while experimenting 
with Emma, I accidently placed my hand on the part of the 
head marked on busts as the organ of veneration; she imme- 
diately began repeating the Apostle's creed ; when my hand 
was removed she ceased, and when it was replaced she com- 
menced repeating where she left off. This was the first mani- 
festation I got of the phrenological sentiments, and interested 
me greatly ; but it was some weeks before I succeeded in ex- 
citing the other sentiments or feelings. Afterwards benevo- 
lence, veneration, firmness, self-esteem, philoprogenitiveness, 
acquisitiveness, combativeness, etc., were easily excited, and 
often most powerfully manifested. Up to this time, no absolute 
proof of personal influence was discovered, but she became 
more easily and quickly mesmerised, and as easily awakened 
into the normal state. 

6. It was now found that Emma would exhibit all the usual 
mesmeric phenomena, such as catalepsy, or rigidity of the 
limbs — for she could be fixed immovably in any position by the 
action of a few passes ; she could be so far demesmerised as to 
be restored to outward consciousness, and yet be unable to move 
the mesmerised arm or leg. Attraction she could also manifest, 
even in the same conscious state, as I often had the opportunity 
of showing to friends and neighbors, who were as much sur- 
prised as amused. For example, a piece of money would be 
placed on a table at a distant part of the room, and it was told 
her she might have it for fetching it. She frequently essayed 
to do so, and would sometimes very nearly reach the money ; but 
invariably, my will, and the drawing passes I made towards my- 
self, overcame her power, and notwithstanding her determined 
efforts, would draw her to myself, and render all her endeavors 
to secure the money ineffectual. On these occasions, she de- 
scribed the sensations she experienced as being like cords 
wound round her and drawing her. The various phenomena 
of phantasy could also be most readily produced ; but when she 
became clairvoyant, if she was desired to look at the object that 

4* 



82 APPENDIX. 

she imagined to be so widely different to what it really was, 
she would instantly perceive the delusion, and dash it from her; 
and yet, within a minute or two, she could be as easily deluded 
again. But the investigation of these ordinary mesmeric states 
was not confined to those exhibited by Emma, but their truth- 
fulness was further confirmed in the case of several youths, who 
were experimented upon, both privately and publicly, and who 
exhibited the same phenomena, but modified in each case by 
the general character of the individual. Since the period re- 
ferred to, Emma's susceptibility has considerably increased, 
and now J can fasten the arms, hands, or mouth, or fix her to 
the spot on which she may be standing or sitting, by a single 
movement or pressure of my hand, without putting her into the 
mesmeric sleep. 

7. It was not long, after Emma became so fully susceptible, 
before opportunities occurred for proving the reality of per- 
sonal influence, and that a highly mesmeric subject may be 
acted upon, even when wholly unaware of the exertion of such 
influence. Many experiments were tried to ascertain the truth 
on this point; but I will only mention three among many cases 
that took place spontaneously, or rather, which occurred with- 
out my mind being directed to her. Once a gentleman asked 
me unexpectedly, in a neighbor's house, several doors from 
mine, to mesmerise him. I tried, but did not succeed. On 
returning home, I found Emma in the mesmeric state, and, 
upon enquiry, found that she had gone into that state while I 
was endeavoring to mesmerise the gentleman. On another 
occasion, I was wishful to induce the mesmeric sleep on a lady, 
for the relief of a rheumatic affection from which she was suf- 
fering. Finding the continual stare very fatiguing to my eyes, 
and also expecting to be called away by patients, it occurred to 
me, that if I directed her to look steadfastly at something, it 
might answer the same purpose, and allow me to leave her, 
without interrupting the mesmeric action. I therefore arose, 
and took a small magnet and suspended it by a wire from a 
hook in the ceiling. Emma was in a room under where I 
was operating, and knew nothing of my movements. In a few 



MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 83 

minutes the smell of burning linen arrested my attention, and 
I desired my daughter to go down stairs and ascertain the 
cause. She called to me quickly to come down ; I did so, and 
found Emma mesmerised, and on her knees before the fire, 
engaged in sweeping the hearth, and her apron on fire, from 
contact with a burning coal that had fallen from the grate — but 
of this she was unconscious, and her attention was wholly 
directed to a point in the ceiling of the room. Having asked 
" What she was doing or looking at?" she replied, "I want 
that magnet." Upon enquiry, I found that she had been en- 
gaged just under where 1 was sitting ; the influence had passed 
through the floor and ceiling and affected her unconsciously in 
the room below, and being now clairvoyant, she immediately 
saw the magnet through the ceiling, etc., and pointed accu- 
rately to its situation. But from the locality of the room, and 
the magnet having been used without any previous intimation 
of my intention — in fact it did not occur to me to do so until 
the patient had been some time seated — she could not possibly 
know of its being in the situation in which I had placed it, by 
any normal means. Here then was one, among numerous 
spontaneous instances, of the transmission and reception of a 
personal influence, and of the reality of clairvoyance. On an- 
other occasion, I was called to see a patient residing more than 
a mile and a half from my residence ; the case was one of 
delirium tremens, and I resolved to try the soothing influence 
of mesmerism, and, in this instance, succeeded in a few minutes. 
On returning home, I found that Emma had gone into the 
mesmeric state at the time I was operating on my patient; but, 
fortunately, she was in a situation where no harm happened to 
her. By way of experiment, I frequently mesmerised her 
when in another room, and unknown to her ; but in the above- 
named, and other cases, I did not think of her ; and the circum- 
stance cau only be explained from her known susceptibility, 
and my being actually engaged in exerting a mesmeric influence 
and intention. This extreme susceptibility ro my personal in- 
fluence, for a considerable period, prevented my using mes- 
merism as a curative agent, inasmuch as I feared to exercise 



84 APPENDIX. 

the power, unless I knew that Emma was in a place of safety, 
and would be kept from danger, in case she should become 
unawares mesmerised. 

8. In the early part of 1847, Emma wished to have the 
vapor of ether administered, with the view of having an aching 
tooth removed without pain ; but the striking effects I had seen 
follow upon mesmerising her, induced me to refuse the ether, 
and, in the evening, to mesmerise her, and thus further test 
the power of the mesmeric sleep to subdue pain. About 
9 o'clock that evening I desired her to sit down ; induced the 
mesmeric sleep, and then leisurely got the necessary instru- 
ments ; lanced her gum ; extracted the tooth ; as soon as the 
bleeding was arrested, washed her mouth, and then aroused 
her. The entire time from sitting down until fully aroused, 
was just fifteen minutes. During the operation she did not 
evince the slightest sensibility ; but as soon as the removal of 
the instrument gave liberty to her mouth, she began to hum a 
tune, even while the blood was flowing. On awakening, she 
knew nothing of what had taken place after going into the sleep, 
and could hardly be persuaded that the tooth on the table be- 
fore her had been extracted from her jaw ! Some time after- 
wards, Mr. Patrick, surgeon-dentist, of Bolton, extracted a 
large decayed molar tooth from her lower jaw, under similar 
circumstances. On the latter occasion, several friends were 
witnesses of the operation. 

9. Discovery of Lucidity and Clairvoyance. — In the 
autumn of 1847, it was told me, that there was a young woman 
in Bolton, who had travelled the country with a mesmeric lec-^ 
turer, and who had been for a long time Clairvoyant. Hav- 
ing heard much of this wonderful faculty, I was desirous to see 
her. She was soon afterwards introduced to me for examination. 
I found that she was very easily mesmerised, and in that state 
she knew me and others in the room : also, that she was fully 
susceptible of feeling ; in these respects differing widely from 
Emma. I could not, therefore, fully satisfy myself as to the 
reality of the mesmeric state. The young woman said, that 
she had formerly been in the same state as Emma, but had 



MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 85 

passed beyond it; and, from subsequent experience, I think 
this may be correct. She told me that she had been taken by 
several London physicians to examine the internal organs of 
patients by the faculty of clairvoyance; but when I saw her, 
her powers seemed to be confined to reading books with large 
print, with the eyes bandaged. I tried the experiment several 
times, but never felt satisfied with the result ; as from the 
position in which she placed the book, the time occupied in the 
endeavor, and the occasional wriggling, I could never be certain 
that she did not see under the bandages. At other times, I 
was certainly much surprised at the readiness she evinced in 
describing a book I had in my hand. On the whole, I con- 
cluded, that her possession of the faculty of clairvoyance was, 
to say the least, doubtful. But it soon after occurred to me, 
that if she ever could see in the manner she stated, perhaps 
Emma could see in the same manner. At all events, 1 had 
the most positive assurance that she went into the mesmeric 
state, and that in that state she could not see, but that the 
power of vision was wholly withdrawn ; the sense of hearing 
alone connecting her consciously with the external world. 

10. One evening I determined to try her. But at this period 
she could not read, anJ was ignorant even of the letters of the 
alphabet. I therefore chose pictorial representations for the 
test, as being a universal language, understood alike both by the 
learned and the unlearned. 1 took a school book belonging to 
my daughter, which contained various wood-cuts, and open- 
ing it at one, I placed it in her hand, saying, " Emma, what is 
this picture ?" She took the book, and as if by instinct, placed 
it open over her forehead and upper part of the cranium, with- 
out the least attempt to look at it in the ordinaiy way, and said, 
almost directly, " Oh yes, it is a naughty boy catching flies at 
the window, and his mother is looking at him." This was the 
subject of the picture and the story annexed. There was a 
figure of a boy at a window, endeavoring to catch a fly, and 
another figure of a female standing in the room observing him. 
I felt most exceedingly surprised and astonished at the correct- 
ness of the description, being assured that she could not see it 



86 APPENDIX. 

by any ordinary use of the eye, or, in fact, by the eye at all. 
This experiment was repeated with many different pictures, 
and invariably with the same result; colored pictures were also 
tried, and it was found that she knew the different colors ac- 
curately ; but on no occasion did she attempt to use the eye — 
she invariably placed the object over her head. 

11. It was now thought, that as mesmerism evidently rested 
on a psychological basis, and that a manifest connection was 
discoverable between the mind of the mesmeriser and the mes- 
merised subject, she might possibly see these pictures some- 
how in my memory, and not from any independent power of 
vision. I, therefore, requested my daughter to select the pic- 
tures, and then to put them into my hand, without telling me 
the subject, or letting me see them. This was repeatedly 
done, and the pictures as accurately described as when I knew 
the subject. Still it was thought that my giving her the pic- 
tures might have some effect upon her ; others, therefore, 
gave her them, or she was allowed to take them herself from a 
number, or to turn over the pages of a book, without any one 
knowing what she had taken, or had turned to, until she had 
described what she had selected. But it was found that it 
made no difference, and demonstrated, that whatever was the 
•power, or wherever the seat of vision, it was her own, and in- 
dependent of any one else. 

12. These, and similar experiments, have been successfully 
performed, in private, before a select company, and also before 
large public audiences ; and this too, with her eyes covered 
with plaisters, and a bandage tied over the plaisters. Not that 
the plaisters or bandages made any difference; but they were 
used for the sake of convincing sceptical people. At this time, 
in ascertaining the subject of a picture, she first passed the tips 
of the fingers of the right hand gently over it (the left hand did 
not seem to possess the same power), and then placed it over 
that part of the head, marked on phrenological busts as the 
organ of Imitation. If a book with prints on the pages was 
given her, she would pass her right fingers gently over the 
page, and if it was letter-press or blank, she would say, "It 



MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 87 

was nothing.' 1 But when she had thus found out the situa- 
tion of the print, she would exclaim, " Oh yes ! here it is ;" or 
" I've got it." But whether the print was a wood-cut, or 
copper-plate, did not appear to make any difference. 

13. A very curious phenomenon was now observed. Pic- 
tures of things did not appear to her as pictures, but as the 
things represented. So that the picture of a rose would convey 
as vivid and real an idea to her sensorium, as the rose itself 
would do to an individual in the ordinary state. Hence it was 
found, that if a picture of thistles, teazels, or other prickly plants, 
or of bees, was given into her hand, the moment the tips of her 
right fingers came into contact with the picture, she would ex- 
claim that she was pricked or stung, and throw the picture 
from her with much violence and passion ! Evidently proving, 
that the representations of things were to her real ; and also 
suggesting, that she had a perception of the form of the objects, 
before placing the picture on her head. These experiments 
were performed many times, both publicly and privately. And 
from her invariable use of the tips of the right fingers, it was 
supposed that there existed some unknown but remarkable 
affinity, between the senses of touch and sight. 

14. By the commencement of 1848, her power of internal 
sight had become so developed, or she had become so familiar- 
ized with her new faculty, that it was evident, from many 
things observed, that she could see such things as her mind ivas 
directed to, without any contact. As an experiment, small 
pictures, and various small objects, were placed singly, first 
in a card box, and afterwards in a wooden box ; and these she 
told, at times, as readily as when out of the box and in her 
hands. At other times, more difficulty was experienced in 
satisfactorily determining that she could see them. This dif- 
ficulty arose from two causes : first, from the manner in which 
she would describe what she saw ; and, secondly, from an 
obstinacy of temper frequently displayed, when removed by 
mesmeric influence from external habit and control. Her 
usual manner was to describe things as they appeared to her in 
Hie internal state, regardless of the names imposed upon them 



88 APPENDIX. 

by custom ; sometimes she refused to call things by their ac- 
customed name, and would always describe them in her own 
way, before she called them by the common name. As an in- 
stance, the following may be given. At the second public 
lecture, in the Temperance Hall, Bolton, on the 9th of March, 
1848, a gentleman in front of the platform suggested that a 
picture, from among others lying on the floor, should be put 
into a box, and given to her — she had then been bandaged for 
some time. A print of a cat was selected, and put into a card 
box ; she put the box over her head, felt it carefully with her 
right fingers, and then, having by a smile and ejaculation evinc- 
ed that she saw the contents, she began — " It is a thing ; it is 
a dark thing ; it has four legs, a tail, a head and two eyes ; 
things round its mouth, and it sits by the fire and says mew, 
and it's a cat." 

15. One cause of difficulty in attaining clear descriptions of 
the things to which her attention was directed, and sometimes 
even in getting her to notice them, was very early perceivable. 
In the exalted condition of mesmerism, her mind was pecu- 
liarly susceptible of impressions from the minds of surrounding 
persons ; hence, when environed by a knot of sceptics, as was 
sometimes the case, their mental influence, unconsciously to 
themselves, would seriously impede the faculties of the clair- 
voyant ; and then the feeling that something was preventing 
the usual development of her powers, caused irritation and 
obstinacy. At the period alluded to, when Emma was asked 
44 How she saw things?" she would say, that suddenly "glasses" 
came to her, and also, that she sees every thing in light through 
these " glasses ;" and the situation of these " glasses" she 
always referred to the organs of imitation. When this doubting, 
opposing influence was brought to bear upon her, she would ex- 
claim, "They are darkening my glasses ;" or " They have taken 
away my glasses." I frequently found that by making passes 
from the upper part of the head, across the organs of imitation, 
1 could produce and increase the clairvoyant power, which she 
would evince by exclaiming, " Oh, its so light now, ;" while by 
making longitudinal passes, from the vortex, over the forehead 



MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 89 

and down to the face, the sight could be immediately closed, and 
she would be placed in a state of darkness. Bodily fatigue, or 
indisposition, would, at that time, and also does at the present 
time, considerably impair the powers, not only of clairvoyance, 
but all the other mesmeric capabilities. 

16. Besides the description of pictures, etc., already noticed, 
she frequently described persons in another room, and said what 
they were doing ; frequently, without having her attention 
directed to the inquiry. At other times she would unexpect 
edly, and unasked, tell individuals what they had in their pock- 
ets, or what sort of food was contained in their stomach. This 
often afforded matter for interesting experiments ; and has been 
witnessed by many respectable persons in the neighborhood. 

17. For a considerable time after she exhibited the most dis- 
tinct lucidity, with respect to objects placed near her, no trace 
could be found of that distant clairvoyance manifested by some 
mesmeric subjects : but, eventually, this faculty became as 
clearly developed as the other. The first time I observed this 
power, was in the case of some near relatives in London. She 
described minutely the dress and appearance of these parties ; 
their occupation at a certain time, and many other particulars, 
which were subsequently found to be correct. Once I directed 
her attention to a female relative in London. Emma speedily 
found her, and began to describe her residence, etc., but sud- 
denly her attention ceased to be directed to my relative, and she 
became engrossed with the description of a magnificent resi- 
dence, with its elegant and costly furniture ; a lady lying in a 
superb bed ; a beautifully dressed baby ; well dressed ladies in 
and about the room ; and another room in which were older 
children, also beautifully dressed, and attended by ladies. From 
many replies to my inquiries, I considered that the only place 
to which her impassioned descriptions could refer, was Buck- 
ingham Palace, for the accouchment of the queen had then re* 
cently occurred. I therefore said, " Do you see any soldiers 
there ?" " Yes," she replied, " there are soldiers at the door." 
I then saw that my conjecture was correct; but why she should 
have spontaneously gone there, without any request on my 



90 APPENDIX. 

part, or, indeed, any thought or desire in that respect, I could 
not understand. But after I had informed my relative of this 
occurrence, I obtained the clue to this singular transition from 
one subject to another. For I was informed that she had been 
thinking of the queen, and the interesting circumstances in 
which she was then placed ; and had felt desirous that I should, 
as an experiment, try whether Emma had the power to visit 
and describe the interior of the palace at that time. The cause 
therefore, of Emma's unexpected visit to royalty was this : my 
relative had wished her to go there ; when brought into mes- 
meric connection with her, the active sentiment of her mind, 
was communicated to Emma's mind ; and by this means, her 
attention was unconsciously directed to the royal residence. 
But there was further confirmation that this was the true cause, 
and of the possibility of a mesmerised subject receiving impres- 
sions from the parties to whom their attention is directed. For 
when I knew, from my relative's letter, what had been the sub- 
ject of her thoughts, I put Emma into the mesmeric state, and 
then asked her, "How and why she went to see the queen?" 

She directly replied, " L took me." But how did you get 

in if there were soldiers at the door ? " O ! I jumped over the 

soldiers ; but L could not jump over them, and therefore 

she could not get in." 

18. At this time, whenever sent on these distant excursions, 
she exhibited great fatigue and excitement ; panting, and suffer- 
ing from violent action of the heart. When asked why she 
panted so ? she would say, " I've gone so fast," — and " It is such 
a way !" She would also take my right hand and place it on her 
bosom: if I removed it, she said, "They are gone away now." 
But latterly she has not required any personal contact to enable 
her to exercise this faculty. Very many experiments were 
made to test this faculty: in some cases she was strikingly cor- 
rect ; in others only approximately so ; for she would sometimes 
confound the recollection of bygone transactions existing in the 
minds of distant individuals, yviih present circumstances, and thus 
present a representation which required some explanation to 
unravel. 



MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 91 

19. Having heard of clairvoyants visiting the planets, I de- 
termined to try the experiment with Emma. I therefore pro- 
posed an excursion to the moon ; and not then knowing how to 
direct her attention to such distant objects ; and she herself 
being, at the time alluded to, wholly ignorant of the mode by 
which a knowlege of distant things is obtained ; and fancying 
that she actually traveled by some mode, I suggested the elec- 
tric telegraph as an expeditious mode of conveyance. The sug- 
gestion answered the purpose, and she was, mentally, soon on 
our satelite. But on that and subsequent occasions, the great 
excitement produced by the strangeness of what she saw, and 
the distance traveled, caused such a palpitation of the heart, as 
to render it necessary to shorten the visit, by de-mesmerising 
her; being fearful that the great physical excitement might 
produce some serious effect on her health, if not immediate 
danger. Her description of what she saw was conveyed in very 
ejaculatory language ; from the surprise and pleasure she ex- 
perienced. Her statements were to the effect, that the moon 
is inhabited ; that the inhabitants she saw were very small — 
dwarfs — not larger than children on our earth ; their heads 
were large in proportion to their bodies, and the mouth vertical 
rather than horizontal ; their voices harsh, and rough, and re- 
sembling the sound of distant thunder ; and when they spoke, 
the speech seemed to come up from the bowels. Their " in- 
sides" were not quite like ours; the lungs especially were dif- 
ferent. She saw some food, something that looked somewhat 
like bread, but they did not call it by that name. She saw only 
one animal, something like a very small pig. There dwellings 
were constructed of pieces of rocks, covered over with green 
stuff resembling gorse : they were very low, for she could put her 
hand to the top. The place did not look like what she conceived 
the moon to be ; but a large place, and veiy rocky, with immense 
precipices, and lofty mountains. The " little folks," as she called 
the inhabitants, could clamber up these rocks with their hands 
and feet, so fast that she could not catch them. u Is there any 
water there?" " Yes: but it does not look like our water, but 
more like milk and water, and yet it is clear. (Meaning prob- 



92 APPENDIX. 

ably, that it is of greater density than our water.) It lies in 
the bottom of hollows, and down the steep precipices. The 
4 little folks ' can walk upon this water and not sink ; they are 
very light. They wear clothes ; but they are very simple and 
all alike. They seem good sort of people. They have a curious 
way of jumping on the back of each other. A very little baby 
was seen in a sort of cradle ; it died : they said what signified 
that, it had gone to sleep ; but they did not mean sleep, but that 
it was dead." 

20. At another time I attempted to send her to Jupiter ; 
but the physical excitement was so great, that I thought it pru- 
dent to call off her attention, before I had obtained any definite 
remarks. She spoke of having been further than where she 
had before seen the " little folks ;" and of seeing them as she 
came back. 

21. Besides the power of seeing, by an internal sight, such 
things as were put into her hands, or to which her attention 
*was directed, Emma would sometimes manifest a sort of appa- 
rently omnipresent vision. Thus she has frequently been asked 
to find missing or lost articles. After a few minutes considera- 
tion, she has said where they might be found; or, in other 
cases, got up and pointed out the place where they lay con- 
cealed. And this she has repeatedly done, when there was 
the most undoubted evidence, that neither herself, in the nor- 
mal condition, nor the mesmeriser, nor any other individual, 
knew the situation of the articles she was desired to look for. 
Thus proving, that not only can an unusual mode of seeing be 
developed by mesmerism, but also an exalted degree of power, 
which makes all things, whatever their local position, appear 
directly within the sphere of vision. This power has been, on 
most occasions, called into exercise chiefly for the sake of ex- 
periment, and to test its reality ; but it has also been applied to 
purposes of use. The following is a remarkable instance ; and 
also valuable as placing the reality and powers of clairvoyance, 
or internal sight, beyond the reach of cavil or contradiction. 

22. On "Wednesday evening, December 20th, 1848, Mr. 
Wood, grocer, of Cheapside, Bolton, had his cash box, with its 



MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 93 

contents, stolen from his counting house. After applying to the 
police, and taking other precautionary steps, and having no clue 
to the thief, although he suspected what was proved to be an 
innocent party : and having heard of Emma's powers as a clair- 
voyant, he applied to me, to ascertain whether, by her means, 
he could discover the party who had taken it, or recover his 
property. I felt considerable hesitation in employing Emma's 
powers for such a purpose: fearing that both the motive and 
agency might be grossly misrepresented. But the amount at 
stake, the opportunity for experiment, and Mr. Wood beiug a 
neighbor, induced me to comply with his request ; and nine 
o'clock, next morning, was appointed for the trial. At that 
hour Mr. Wood came to my residence, and I then put Emma, 
by mesmerism, into the internal state, and then told her that 
Mr. Wood (whom I put en rapport, as it is called, with her) 
had lost his cash box, and that I wished her to tell us, if she 
could, where the box was taken from, what was in it, and who 
took it. She remained silent a few minutes, evidently men- 
tally seeking for what she had been requested to discover. 
Presently she began to talk with an imaginary personage, as if 
present in the room with us ; but as it subsequently proved, 
although invisible and imaginary to us, he was both real and 
visible to her: for she had discovered the thief, and was con- 
versing with his mind on the robbery. She described, in the 
course of this apparent conversation, and afterward to us, where 
the box was placed : what the general nature of its contents 
was, particularizing some documents it contained : how he took 
it, and that he did not take it away to his residence at once, but 
hid it up an entry ; and her description of his person, dress, 
associations, etc., was so vivid, that Mr. W. immediately recog- 
nized the purloiner of his property, in a person the last to be 
suspected. Feeling satisfied, from the general accuracy of her 
descriptions, and also from her describing the contents of the 
box, that she had really pointed out the delinquent. Mr. W. 
went directly to the house where he resided, and which she 
had pointed out, even to the letters on the door-plate : ana in- 
sisted on his accompanying him to my house : or, in case of 



94 APPENDIX. 

refusal, to the police office. When brought, and placed in con- 
nection with Emma, she started back from him, as if he had 
been a serpent ; telling- him that he was a bad man, and observ- 
ing, also, that he had not the same clothes on as when he took 
the box ; which was the fact. He denied strenuously all 
knowledge of the robbery, then, and up to a late hour in the 
afternoon ; but as he was not permitted to go at large, and thus 
had no opportunity for destroying, or effectually concealing the 
box ; and as Mr. Wood had promised, for the sake of his con- 
nections, not to prosecute, if confession was made, and the box 
and contents recovered, he, at last, admitted that he had taken 
it, and in the manner described by Emma ; and the box and 
contents were found in the place where he had secreted them ; 
broken open ; but the property safe. It should be observed, 
that Emma had pointed out the place where the box was con- 
cealed, but we could not be certain of the place she meant, 
without permitting her, while in the internal state, to lead us 
to it : this the confession rendered unnecessary. 

23. In other cases Emma has described articles that have 
been lost by parties placed en rapport with her, without her 
being asked to do so, or, indeed, anything being said respecting 
them. In some instances these have been most interesting ex- 
periments, affording evidence of her being able to trace a series 
of events, totally unknown to her in the normal state, back 
through a number of years. 

24. Several times she has been directed to seek for persons 
in distant regions of the globe. Whenever she has found them, 
her statements of time and season, invariably coincided with 
the latitude and longitude of the places to which she has been 
directed. At present, one complete proof only has been ob- 
tained of her really having a distinct and truthful perception of 
such distant objects. A young man had sailed from Liverpool 
for New York, without apprising his parents of his intention of 
doing so, until the day the ship sailed. His parents immediately 
remitted him a sum of money by the mail steamer ; but they 
were subsequently informed, that he had not applied for it ; nor 
had any thing been heard of him, although the ship in which he 



MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. U5 

sailed had long arrived. In a state of anxiety the young man's 
mother came twenty miles to Bolton, to see whether, by Emma's 
means, she could learn any thing of him. After a little time, 
Emma found him; described his appearance correctly; and 
entered into so many details, as to induce his mother to rely upon 
her statements ; and to request me to make inquiries at intervals 
of about a fortnight. I did so, and traced him by her means to 
'several places ; and the information thus acquired, I transmitted 
to his parents. On the 24th of January, in the present year, I 
received a note from the young man's father, informing me that 
a letter had arrived from his son, and that " it was a most strik- 
ing confirmation of Emma's testimony from first to last." 



CLAIRVOYANCE AS APPLIED TO PHYSIOLOGY 
AND MEDICINE. 

25. For more than eighteen months, Emma has been able 
to see the internal organs of the human body. At first, only 
when placed in personal connection with the individual to be 
examined ; but subsequently, when the parties were many 
miles distant. In her best state, the human body seems to her 
completely transparent, and might be compared to a watch, 
whose case and works were all of the most transparent chrys- 
tal. I discovered this power from her remarks on myself. 
One evening she began to describe my lungs, as "pink things,"' 
full of holes like a sponge, with air in the holes, and thousands 
of little veins in all directions. She said the right lung was not 
so good a color as the left, and that it stuck at the middle flap. 
This I knew to be the case, and thought she might only be 
giving utterance to my own ideas. But I soon found that this 
was not the case ; but, as in the case of the pictures, she really 
did see what she described. I asked her some questions about 
the heart, which she accurately described, as to the auricles 
and ventricles ; the contained arterial and venous blood, etc.; 



96 APPENDIX. 

but, as might be expected, in very homely language. I thought 
her at fault once ; but found, that while I was thinking about 
the heart, she had wandered to the windpipe, with its rings. 
It was some time after the discovery of this faculty, before it 
could be used without inconvenience ; for when her attention 
was directed to the internal organs of the body, the strangeness 
of the sight, together with the universal motion, and circulating 
blood, so terrified her, that she would tremble from head to 
foot ; and, when awakened, complained of being ill and fright- 
ened, without knowing the cause. But, by degrees, she be- 
came familiarized with these investigations, and she will now 
calmly, and without any fear, examine and describe the inter- 
nal organs. Her manner on these occasions is always serious 
and kind ; her language soft, but, from her want of education, 
imperfect. Had she received an anatomical education, her gift 
would be more valuable, or rather, more accurate descriptions 
could be given ; but, on the other hand, her want of education 
proves that she does not derive the knowledge of the internal 
organism of the body which she evinces, from her previously 
stored memory. The application of this power, appears to be 
one of the most legitimate uses of clairvoyance, and perhaps 
the most beneficial in its application. By it an accurate diagno- 
sis may be formed of many internal diseases, which elude the 
ordinary mode of research. But to make a clairvoyant diagno- 
sis, truly satisfactory, it often requires the aid of the medical 
practitioner, or the professed anatomist and physiologist, rightly 
to interpret the language of the clairvoyant. Many curious 
points in physiology, which, from the nature of the case, rested 
rather upon rational induction than positive demonstration, 
have, to my mind, been satisfactorily determined by the reveal- 
ments of clairvoyance ; especially as regards the action of the 
brain and nervous system, and the action of the heart; and the 
knowledges thus obtained have an important bearing on the 
mode by which diseases of these important organs may be 
cured. 

26. On the 4th of August, 1848, a gentleman of Bolton 
brought a letter, written by a lady, the wife of a physician in 



MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 97 

Gloucestershire, and this lady, who had heard of other clair- 
voyants describing the diseases of distant people, merely by 
using their handwriting as a medium of communication, desired 
that it should be given to Emma, to ascertain whether she could 
discover the condition of the writer. It must be remembered 
that Emma could not read printing, much less writing; the sub- 
ject matter of the letter was of no consequence, it was the 
handwriting, as a medium of connection. Emma put it over 
her head, as she used to do with pictures, and carefully felt it 
with her right fingers, and then said " it was a lady's up and 
down strokes" meaning by that phrase, the handwriting of a 
lady. She described the lady, as to her personal appearance, 
accurately, even to a small blemish occasioned by an accident ; 
the internal organs of the body ; an affection of the spine under 
which she was laboring ; the situation and appearance of the 
place where she resided, and many more particulars. The 
accuracy of her descriptions was admitted by the doctor ; and, 
subsequently, I had an opportunity, personally, to verify some 
of her statements. The envelope of the letter was directed by 
the doctor ; him she described correctly, both as to his personal 
character, general pursuits, and literary tendencies. This was 
an entirely new experiment ; and finding the result so unex- 
pected and striking, it led to many more ; some of which were, 
apparently, more remarkable. Among others, I may mention 
the case of a letter written by a gentleman at Cairo, which was 
put into her hand. She soon said it was written by a gentle- 
man, and described him, as to the condition of his health, and 
the place where he was residing, together with the climate and 
appearance of the people there, even to the peculiar veil worn 
by the Egyptian ladies. The correctness of her statement, as 
to the gentleman's condition, was ascertained from a subsequent 
letter. Locks of hair have also been similarly used as a me- 
dium ; but the handwriting appeared to be the easier and better 
mode of forming the connection. 

27. On the 29th of September, 1848, an opportunity was 
afforded for an entirely new manifestation of Emma's powers. 
A highly respectable gentleman of Manchester, having, at that 



98 APPENDIX. 

time, a daughter seriously ill with a cerebral disease, which 
baffled the ordinary medical treatment, and which, in addition 
to bodily infirmity, had produced a state of insanity, had been 
recommended to try whether by clairvoyance a mode of cure 
could be discovered. He came on the previous day ; but Emma 
then being in the state- of trance, to be presently described, he 
could not obtain the information sought. He left with me a 
few pencil marks made by the lady, as a means of forming a 
medium of connection. On the date above, I gave this piece of 
paper to Emma, and asked her if she could find the person who 
made the marks, and tell me what was the matter with her ; 
for at that time I had no idea of her selecting any appropriate 
remedies. She soon found the lady ; described, accurately, the 
external symptoms of her complaint, and also the internal con- 
dition of her brain; to which organ she referred the whole 
cause of illness. After recommending various mesmeric passes, 
she exclaimed, pointing at the same time toward the ceiling of 
the room — " There is what will cure that lady, along with 
mesmerism ; Eh ! what little bottles !" These she described as, 
containing little things like the small comfits, generally called 
" thousands. " I said, "Is there any thing like them in my 
shop or surgery ?" " No ! you have nothing like them." 
** Where can they be obtained ?" " There — in that bis: town 
(pointing toward Manchester), in that shop with a head in the 
window ; they are kept there in a drawer." It would not have 
occurred to me what medicines she meant, but that in the pre- 
vious month, when in London, I had been shown, by a lady, 
a case of homeopathic medicines. I do not recollect ever before 
seeing any ; and I was quite ignorant at that time as to the 
mode of preparing and using them. I am certain also, that in 
her normal state Emma knew nothing about, nor had ever seen, 
any of these medicines. The shop, I subsequently found, was 
Mr. Turner's, homeopathic chemist, Piccadilly, Manchester, 
and in the shop window, there was a bust of Huhneman, the 
founder of homeopathy. But I was ignorant that there was 
such a shop in that neighborhood, having seldom occasion to go 
to that part of the city. I wrote to the gentleman informing 



MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 99 

him of Emma's remarks ; and he directly purchased a case from 
Mr. Turner, and came over to Bolton to ascertain the particu- 
lars. The sealed box was put into Emma's hand, and as soon 
as she had put it over her head, she said that it contained the 
medicines she before saw ; and pointed especially to the situation 
of one bottle in the case. When the case was opened, she 
selected a bottle from the place she had pointed out, and tasted 
the globvles through the glass, without attempting to draw the 
cork. By way of test, the bottle was put into another part of 
the case, and other bottles slipped into her hand ; but she in- 
variably detected the change, by tasting through the glass, and 
putting the bottle to her forehead. From that time, the pre- 
scribed globules were daily administered, and the mesmeric 
passes regularly made ; and the result is, the restoration of the 
lady to health, both in mind and body. 

28. The result of this experiment opened a new field for 
inquiry, and led to repeated trials. A quantity of the usual 
medicines were mixed with sugar, and put into small vials, and 
given her with the homeopathic medicines, and these she would 
select and test in the same way; namely, by tasting them 
through the bottle. Sometimes she would select homeopathic 
remedies ; at other times, the usual ones. She invariably calls 
those which she considers suitable for the disease, nice ; the 
others she calls nasty ; but I sometimes found, that the " nice" 
medicines were intensely bitter; such, for instance, as the sul- 
phate of quinine. How she obtains this intuitive knowledge of 
medicines I cannot discover. The homeopathic remedies have 
generally been the best that could be selected according to that 
theory of therapeutics ; and the usual medicines have been quite 
as judiciously prescribed, as to their qualities; but of the quan- 
tity, and mode of preparation she was unable to speak. Some- 
times she was unable to point out any remedies for the disor- 
ders she described ; and hence the necessity for a knowledge 
of the properties of medicine, in some one, in order to profit by 
her revealments. Her powers appear to be chiefly applicable 
to nervous diseases, and diseases of the lungs, liver, and heart. 
Many cases have been submitted to her, from different parts 



100 APPENDIX. 

of the country; and some of these, of a most serious character, 
have been rapidly cured by an adoption of the means recom- 
mended. Since the period when this faculty for examining and 
prescribing for distant patients was discovered, a change has 
passed over her; and she can now do without any medium of 
connection ; but requires the name and address of the party 
seeking relief, and that appears to be sufficient to enable her to 
discover them. But the handwriting of the patient, or the in- 
tervention of some friend, seems to insure greater accuracy. 
Upon awakening from these clairvoyant examinations, Emma 
has no recollection of any thing she has said or done ; they 
being, in this respect, like all other mesmeric trances. But of 
course, the information thus obtained is available to the medical 
practitioner in all similar cases. 

29. Her statements of the way in which some diseases are 
removed, and of the permeability of the solid tissues of the body, 
are very remarkable ; but at the same time are in accordance 
with the suggestions of profound physiologists ; and, moreover, 
they seem to be borne out by the facts of the case. 

30. That exalted sense, before referred to, which enables her 
to see things to which her attention is directed, as apparently 
within the sphere of vision, whatever their locality, is also mani- 
fest, though in another mode, in her selection of medicines ; for 
by tasting through the bottle, she has been enabled to identify 
the homeopathic globules with the tinctures from which they 
are prepared ! This may be considered one of the strongest 
proofs that a medicinal virtue resides in them ; for so highly 
attenuated are the dilutions with which they are saturated, that 
to the ordinary sense, they all taste alike, and merely of the 
sugar of milk, of which the body of the globule is composed ; 
and I understand that they are not cognizable, even by chemi- 
cal test. 



MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 101 



SPONTANEOUS EXTASIS, OR TRANCE. 

31. The foregoing notes refer to the phenomena witnessed 
in the state of induced extasis, or mesmeric trance; the ensuing 
very briefly relate states of a much higher, or more interior 
character, and differing, in some respects essentially, from the 
observed facts of ordinary mesmerism. 

32. Frequently during the spring and summer, Emma would, 
in the mesmeric state, speak of the sceneiy and nature of the 
spirit-world, in stich a way as to impress the beholder with a 
conviction that the descriptions she gave could not be the result 
of any previously acquired knowledge, or of an active imagina- 
tion. She also occasionally spoke of things which had actually 
occurred, but which it was impossible for her to know by any 
ordinary means. Her ideas of religion were principally de- 
rived from the teachings of a village schoolmistress, in connec- 
tion with the Church of England, and from occasional attend- 
ance at the public services of the church. She had been taught 
to read a little when a child, but had lost the acquirement 
through a fever ; and, as before observed, at this time she could 
not read, nor even correctly tell the letters of the alphabet ; and 
yet the ideas to which she sometimes gave utterance were of 
an elegant and exalted description. As she still continued to 
have no recollection of what she uttered when she returned to 
the normal state, I one day said to her, " Emma, I have heard 
of some persons having seen such things as you speak of, but 
they could recollect what they saw, and write an account of it 
in books." She replied, " Yes ; because it was permitted them ; 
and she should also be permitted by and by to recollect what she 
saw. 11 I did not tell her this when she awoke; nor did I expect 
then that her prediction would be verified. But subsequent 
events proved that she was correct in making this assertion. 

33. The first of these spontaneous states of extasis, or spirit- 
ual trance, occurred on the 3rd of July, 1848, without any ex- 
pectation or forewarning on her part. This did not last more 
than a quarter of an hour. Afterward she had several which 



102 APPENDIX. 

lasted about half an hour; and since those, some which have 
extended from four to ten hours. Of most of these states, she 
had a presentiment while in the mesmeric state; and in one 
instance foretold the occurrence nearly two months before it 
happened. But she knew nothing of what was forthcoming 
while in her ordinary wakeful state ; and for the sake of experi- 
ment, and to test the truthfulness of her predictions, she was 
never informed when these trances were to occur; yet she was 
found correct, even to the exact time. They have usually been 
preceded by a feeling of quietness, and a somewhat confused 
sensation in the head, but no pain. Several gentlemen whom 
I had apprised of her statements, have been witnesses of their 
accuracy, and of the genuineness of this abnormal condition. 

34. In these states she preserved a recollection, at times, of 
the place she was actually in, and of the persons by whom she 
was surrounded, and, at the same time, she had a distinct and 
sensational perception of a higher and spiritual state of exist- 
ence, and of a class of beings living in such a state. She would 
speak of these things while in the trance, and on her return to 
the normal state she could recollect, and would again describe 
what she had seen and heard. During the first trance, of four 
hours duration, which occurred on the 28th of September, 1848, 
she was so far elevated in her perceptions that she spoke of this 
world, as the other world, just as if she had passed from this 
life by death. She said, also, that the perons in the room with 
her appeared only like shadows, and a long way from her. 
Upon examination she was found, in this and other trances, 
insensible to pain, and her eyes upturned, as in the ordinary 
mesmeric state, and her limbs continued flexible. At times she 
would seem wholly indrawn, and then she would, as it were, 
return and speak of what was passing before her mental vision. 
But in the next trance, of six hours' duration, and subsequently, 
she became for a part of it quite insensible to all outward things, 
and perfectly cataleptic from head to foot. A gentleman from 
Manchester, who was present with me on this occasion, assisted 
me to raise her body, and we found it as stiff and inflexible as 
a lou of wood. 



MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 103 

35. I took the opportunity, during one of these trances, to 
ascertain whether she could see concealed natural substances, 
as in the ordinary mesmeric state. I put my hand in my pocket 
and withdrew it with a shilling concealed in the closed fist. I 
inquired, " What have I in my hand ?" " Only a shilling," 
was the immediate reply. It must be remembered that the 
eyelids were closed, and the eyeballs up-turned, so as totally to 
prevent ordinary vision. I then put my hand into my pocket 
again, and withdrew it with a half-a-crown and a shilling en- 
closed, and asked her, " Can you see what is now in my hand ?" 
she replied, " Stop a little, till I've seen these," alluding to the 
spiritual objects then engrossing her attention ; but when I again 
asked her, she was about coming out of the trance, and could 
not then see. 

36. One instance of her sight will be related, because it is a 
proof that there is a reality in her extatic perceptions, and that 
she then eminently possesses a super-sensual gift. On the 
11th of July she told me, when in the mesmeric state, that an 
individual whom I well knew, but who had been dead for some 
years, had told her that on the following night they should come 
to her, and show her a book with some writing in, which she 
was to take and show to me. From some of her remarks, I 
concluded that one of three books was intended : — one, a small 
bible, not then in the house. Former experience having con- 
vinced me of the reality of her observations, and the certainty 
of her predictions, I got this little bible, and put it with the 
other books, among many more. In the night she awoke in a 
state of trance, similar to somnambulism, and descending two 
flights of stairs, selected this book from all the others, and then 
brought it open to me. Owing to the darkness, I ioadvertexU 
knocked tin*, book out of her hand, while seeking a Light. She 
spccdiiy found the place again, by turning over the pages ri 
and left, over her head, in her usual mesmeric man! km-. The 
passage selected was Joshua, chap. 1st, verses 8, 9. Frequently 
afterward, by way of test, this bible was given to her to point 
out this text; and this she invariably did befoY 

without attempting to look at it, but by feeling tin 



104 APPENDIX. 

turning them over while the book was over her head. She 
also told me circumstances connected with the history of that 
book, which I am positive she could not know by any of the 
usual means ; for some were only known to myself. She was 
asked to tell by what means she found the passage, as she could 
not read, and was also in the dark. She replied, that the in- 
dividuals alluded to, whom she said she saw in their spiritual 
body, had a similar book, but a larger one, open upon the left 
arm, and that they pointed with the right hand to the pages, 
and the same text; that her hands seemed guided in their 
movements, and when she had got the right place, she could 
no longer turn the pages, either to the right or to the left ! 
Another instance of a similar kind occurred a few weeks later. 
After the lapse of some months, she was again tried with the 
small bible ; but having then lost the connecting influence, she 
could no longer find the passage as she had previously done. 

37. The subjects of these trances would afford matter for 
many pages ; but some were of a private character, and, al- 
though highly interesting to the parties concerned, would not 
be interesting to others, except as illustrating the nature of the 
spirit's home, and some of the general laws by which spiritual 
associations are regulated. All that she has said tends to con- 
firm the distinction between moral good and moral evil, and the 
impossibility of those who depart this life in a state of moral 
evil, attaining hereafter, to a state of moral goodness ; in this 
respect, being strikingly dissimilar to the statements of Davis, 
the American clairvoyant ; but who, according to his own sub- 
sequent statements, had never been in the state of true spiritual 
extasis, when he delivered his lectures in the mesmeric state. 

38. Her general statements represent man as a spiritual 
being, rising from the shell of the dead body immediately after 
death, a perfectly organized existence, and having a complete 
sensational perception of his fellow spiritual beings, and of the 
beautiful scenery of the spiritual spheres; that is, provided he 
possessed during his natural life a moral state, in harmony with 
those spheres. The male and female sex retaining all the 
characterises necessary to a spiritual state of existence, and 



MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 105 

living together in a state of angelic union. Those who have 
been interiorly united here, coming again into a state of union 
hereafter. She represents male and female spiritual beings, 
thus united, as appearing at a distance as one, and says that 
they are not called two, nor the married, but the one. Infants 
and young children, who have passed from this world by death, 
are stated to grow to a state of adolescence, but more speedily 
than in the natural world. During infancy and early childhood, 
they are confided to the care of good female spirits, or angels, 
whose delight it is to instruct them by various methods, espe- 
cially by representatives of things. These spiritual spheres, 
and their spiritual inhabitants, are in close association with us, 
and exercise an influence over us, although we are unconscious 
of it. All that is wanted to have a sensational knowledge of 
their existence, is the closing of the external consciousness, and 
a full awakening of the internal consciousness. In the highest 
state of trance, she appeared to herself, to be among spiritual 
beings, as one of themselves ; at other times she appeared to 
them more shadowy. The first receptacle of the departed 
spirit she describes as a sort of middle place or state, from 
which the good gradually ascend to higher and more delightful 
places; those that are the best having higher abodes than the 
others. All are welcomed by angelic spirits, on their arrival in 
tho spirit-world ; but the evil will not associate with the good, 
and recede of their own accord, more or less rapidly, to darker 
places below and to the left ; but of these darker places, she 
had not been permitted to know so much as of the abodes of 
the good. 

39. Being asked, in one of these long trances, if she now 
could explain how she saw distant individuals in the mesmeric 
state ; she said, "Yes; I can see how it is now, but I could not 
before;" and then stated that if spirits wished to see each other, 
distance is no interruption ; and words to the effect that spirits 
are not subject to our laws of space and time; and that man, 
as to his spirit* is a subject of the laws of the spirit-world, even 
while united to the natural body. The opening of her spiritual 
consciousness, gives her a sensational perception of the spirits 



106 APPENDIX. 

of all to whom her attention is directed ; and thus, however dis- 
tant the individual, he can be mentally present with her. But 
this she further represented, as being accomplished by the aid 
of intermediate associate spirits, by whom the connection is 
completed ; and she further represented every one, as having a 
connection with the spirit- world generally ; and a more par- 
ticular one, by means of this associate spirit. Whenever Emma 
speaks of going into a trance, she always represents it as "going 
away" and " going a very long way" Of any one that is dead, 
she says, " They have left their shell and gone away," and will 
never admit that they are dead. 

40. In the mesmeric state, Emma represented the fibres of 
her brain as falling forward, and the hemispheres separating at 
the top, when she became lucid; and she further said, that a 
brain capable of these movements was necessary in order to 
attain a state of lucidity. In one of the spontaneous trances, 
1 asked her it* she could see me in the same manner as when 
mesmerised. She replied, that she had no recollection of 
the state of her brain while in the mesmeric state ; but that in 
the state she then was, every thing seemed light, or rather was 
seen in light. She knew that she did not see with the eye, 
and yet somehow she seemed to use her eyes. She saw me 
plainly ; yet I did not appear as I ordinarily did ; she could not 
explain the difference, only that I appeared light. It appeared 
to her, that light issued from within, outward. During a sub- 
sequent long trance, I inquired whether she could see my lungs 
then as she had done when mesmerised. She replied in the 
negative, and said, " 1 can only see you as a cloud ; yet I know 
it is you." 



PRACTICE AND USE OF MESMERISM. 

41. The induction of the mesmeric sleep, or the practice of 
mesmerism as a curative agent, is a very simple process. I am 
inclined to believe, that the result depends more on the pecu- 



MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 107 

liar constitution of the subject, than the power of the mesmer- 
iser. All that is required, is patience, and a proper disposition 
in both parties. Let the subject sit down in the easiest and 
most comfortable posture. The operator should be seated in 
front, and take both hands of his patient in his left hand, placing 
his right hand on the head. Then gently and slowly continue 
to make passes forward over the face- — the operator looking 
steadfastly at the eyes of the subject. The room should not be 
too light, and everything kept quiet. The subject should keep 
his eyes fixed on those of the operator, and yield himself unre- 
servedly to his influence. If this course is persevered in for 
twenty or thirty minutes, some effect will generally be observ- 
ed ; and if the subject is susceptible, probably within five or ten 
minutes the sleep may be induced. If the front passes do not 
succeed, then it will be well to try backward passes from the 
forehead, over the head and partly down the spine, each party 
steadfastly regarding each other's eyes as before. 

42. As a general rule, more striking effects may be expected, 
when the sleep can be produced ; but it must not be forgotten 
that good may be done where the patient cannot go into the 
state of coma. Where the object is to relieve pain, first try 
to produce the coma ; but if not practicable, or the patient ob- 
jects, then simply make passes with both hands doicnivards, 
slowly and gently, over the parts affected, allowing the lingers 
lightly to touch the person of the patient, and well shaking the 
hands after each pass. This may be smiled at by the incredu- 
lous and inexperienced in these matters ; but I have had proof 
that disease may be put into the system, and transmitted by 
passes from one subject to another. In cases of what are called 
nervous headaches, the passes should be made from the fore- 
head over the head to the nape of the neck; and then from the 
forehead along the base of the brain : that is, just over, and be- 
hind the ears and a little way down the neck, and then shake 
the hands after each pass, as before. This will generally relieve 
headache in five or ten minutes, if properly performed. No 
fear need be felt ;:^ to the arousing of the patient. Fresh pa- 
tients will generally awaken spontaneously. But by continued 



108 APPENDIX. 

hack and upward passes, from the chest over the face and head, 
or by upwardly fanning the face, the patient will be aroused. 

43. The curative influence of mesmerism, as it proceeds 
primarily from the will of the operator, though generally re- 
quiring the proper manipulations to make it susceptible, I pro- 
pose to call PARAPSYCHEisM,from the Greek words Parapsyche, 
to soothe or comfort, psyche, the animal soul or mind. 

44. The diseases to which parapsycheism, or the curative 
influence of mesmerism, may be most beneficially applied, are 
those of the brain, and nervous and functional diseases. Pain- 
ful affections of the head, incipient and partial insanity, deter- 
minations of blood to the brain, giddiness and stupor, delirium 
tremens, and other affections of the brain may be, in most cases, 
speedily relieved by the application of the parapsycheic, or 
mesmeric influence, especially if combined with proper medi- 
cal treatment, and due management. But none of the old sys- 
tem of treatment, bleeding and blistering, setoning and purging, 
must be allowed. The same remark applies to the whole range 
of neuralgic, and what are called rheumatic affections ; and 
organic, as well as functional diseases of the heart, liver, and 
lungs. In all painful cases, it would be well to endeavor to 
bring this soothing influence into operation. No harm will 
ever be done, if the passes are made in the manner directed, 
and with a proper feeling and desire to do good. But while 
censuring the old practice of medicine, in the cases above 
alluded to, fairness obliges me to say that equal blame attaches 
to some enthusiastic mesmerists, who, from their partial know- 
ledge are led to despise and misrepresent all medical treat- 
ment. The very circumstance of true clairvoyants prescribing 
medicines, proves that those most under its influence perceive 
mesmerism to be only one among other means of restoring and 
preserving health. 

45. But the full use of mesmerism, as a curative agent, will 
never be thoroughly known until there are better opportunities 
for its practice than at present exist. It cannot be expected 
that medical men should generally be the actual mesmerisers, 
as they would not be able, except in a few cases, to bestow the 



MESMERIC AND PSYCHICAL EXPERIENCE. 109 

necessary time. It, therefore, requires a class of trained male 
and female mesmerisers to act under the superintendence of 
qualified medical practitioners, and perhaps it would be most 
successfully carried out in establishments similar to Hydropa- 
thic Institutions, but more universal in their means of cure. 

46. In conclusion, I would observe to those who may read 
these pages doubtingly — experiment for yourselves, not con- 
fining your attention to one or two cases, but patiently investi- 
gating wherever opportunity offers ; and the probability is, that 
you will speedily be convinced, by actual observation, of the 
general truths of mesmerism, and of its efficacy, as an agent for 
the relief of human affliction. 



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Matrimony ; or Phrenology and Physiology applied to the 

Selection of Ccugenial Companions for Life. Illustrated. Price, '25 cents. 



m 



PROSPECTUS OF THE 



VATBE-CTJRE JOURNAL, 

AND HERALD OF REFORMS. 

VOL. IX., FOR 1850. 



The Water-Cuke Journal and Herald 
op Reforms, is published monthly, at one 
dollar a year, in advance, containing thirty- 
two large octavo pages, illustrated with en- 
gravings, exhibiting the Structure, Anatomy, 
and Physiology of the Human Body, with fa- 
miliar explanations and instruction to learners. 

THIS JOURNAL 

Is emphatically a Journal of Health, 

adapted to all classes, and is designed to be a 

complete Family Guide, in all cases and in all 

diseases. 

HYDROPATHY 
Will be fully unfolded, and so explained that 
all may apply it in various diseases, even those 
not curable by any other means. There is no 
system so simple, harmless, and universally 
applicable, as the Water-Cure. Its effects are 
almost miraculous, and it has already been the 
means of saving the lives of thousands, who 
were entirely beyond the reach of all other 
known remedies. 
THE PHILOSOPHY OF HEALTH 
Will be fully discussed, including Food, 
Drinks, Clothing, Air, and Exercise, showing 
their effects on both body and mind. 
REFORMS 
In all our modes of life will be pointed out, 
and made bo plain that "he that runs may 
read." We believe fully that man may pro- 
long his life much beyond the number of years 
usually attained. We propose to show hc» 
TO INVALIDS, 
No matter of what disease, the principles 
of Hydropathy may safely be applied, and in 
nine cases out of ten, great benefit may be 
derived therefrom. 

TO THOSE IN HEALTH. 

Without health, even life is not desirable, 

unless a remedy can be found. To preserve 

health, no other mode of living can compare 

with this system. In fact, were its rules ob- 

SvrdMul canjpd Mt, vmpy of our ills would 
foiW:r^arJy;»efl^n^^ucceeding genera- 
tions grow up in all the vigor of true manhood. 



It will be a part of our duty to teach thewari 
how to preserve health, as well as cure dissas 
WATER-CURE AT HOME. 
Particular directions will be given for ti 
treatment of ordinary cases at Home, whk 
will enable all, who may have occasion, to a 
ply it without the aid of a physician. 

TO WOMEN AND MOTHERS 
It is universally conceded by all intel 
practitioners, as well by the old school 
new, that the Water-Cure is not equall 
any other mode of treatment in those pe 
complaints common only to woman, 
Journal will contain such advice and in 
tion as may be considered most im; 
in all these critical yet unavoidable ci 
TO PRACTITIONERS 



irnpo 



This Journal will represent the entir 
dropathic profession. Reports of imp 
cases, and all other matters pertainit 
health, will be laid before our readers. 

aV to the public. 

Hve have obtained the co-operation 
leading hydropathic writers, in order t( 
sent the whole combined talent of the 
profession. Besides this, we have had 
experience in journal publishing, anc 
secured the services of nearly all the n 
reformers in the land. 

THIS JOURNAL 
Will be published monthly, contain; 
ty-two large pages of the best m 
reference to the application of this 
adapted to all classes, on the folio wii 
TERMS, IN ADVANCE : 
Single copy, . $1 00 i Ten copies, 
Five copies, . 4 00 | Twenty copi< 
To receive attention, letters and on 
in all cases, be post paid, and dired 
FOWLERS AND WEL 
Clinton Hall, 131 Nassau street, Ne' 
N. B. — The new volume comm< 
January, 1850. fl^lp Agents wan! 



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Treatment Date: Nov. 2004 



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